The general models for intermediates quality analysis in the production process of Yaobitong capsule were established by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with chemometrics, realizing the rapid determination of notoginsenoside R1, ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Rd and moisture. The spray-dried fine powder and total mixed granule were selected as research objects. The contents of five saponins were determined by high performance liquid chromatography and the moisture content was determined by drying method. The measured contents were used as reference values. Meanwhile, NIR spectra were collected. After removing abnormal samples by Monte Carlo cross validation (MCCV), Monte Carlo uninformative variables elimination (MC-UVE) and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) were used to select feature variables respectively. Based on the feature variables, quantitative models were established by partial least squares regression (PLSR), extreme learning machine (ELM) and ant lion optimization least squares support vector machine (ALO-LSSVM). The results showed that CARS-ALO-LSSVM model had the optimum effect. The correlation coefficients of the six index components were greater than 0.93, and the relative standard errors were controlled within 6%. ALO-LSSVM was more suitable for a large number of samples with rich information, and the prediction effect and stability of the model were significantly improved. The general models with good predicting effect can be used for the rapid quality determination of Yaobitong capsule intermediates.

ObjectiveObesity has been identified as one of the most important risk factors for cognitive dysfunction. Physical exercise can ameliorate learning and memory deficits by reversing synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and cortex in diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, we aimed to determine whether 8 weeks of treadmill exercise could alleviate hippocampus-dependent memory impairment in high-fat diet-induced obese mice and investigate the potential mechanisms involved. MethodsA total of sixty 6-week-old male C57BL/6 mice, weighing between 20-30 g, were randomly assigned to 3 distinct groups, each consisting of 20 mice. The groups were designated as follows: control (CON), high-fat diet (HFD), and high-fat diet with exercise (HFD-Ex). Prior to the initiation of the treadmill exercise protocol, the HFD and HFD-Ex groups were fed a high-fat diet (60% fat by kcal) for 20 weeks. The mice in the HFD-Ex group underwent treadmill exercise at a speed of 8 m/min for the first 10 min, followed by 12 m/min for the subsequent 50 min, totally 60 min of exercise at a 0° slope, 5 d per week, for 8 weeks. We employed Y-maze and novel object recognition tests to assess hippocampus-dependent memory and utilized immunofluorescence, Western blot, Golgi staining, and ELISA to analyze axon length, dendritic complexity, number of spines, the expression of c-fos, doublecortin (DCX), postsynaptic density-95 (PSD95), synaptophysin (Syn), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and the number of major histocompatibility complex II (MHC-II) positive cells. ResultsMice with HFD-induced obesity exhibit hippocampus-dependent memory impairment, and treadmill exercise can prevent memory decline in these mice. The expression of DCX was significantly decreased in the HFD-induced obese mice compared to the control group (P<0.001). Treadmill exercise increased the expression of c-fos (P<0.001) and DCX (P=0.001) in the hippocampus of the HFD-induced obese mice. The axon length (P<0.001), dendritic complexity (P<0.001), the number of spines (P<0.001) and the expression of PSD95 (P<0.001) in the hippocampus were significantly decreased in the HFD-induced obese mice compared to the control group. Treadmill exercise increased the axon length (P=0.002), dendritic complexity(P<0.001), the number of spines (P<0.001) and the expression of PSD95 (P=0.001) of the hippocampus in the HFD-induced obese mice. Our study found a significant increase in MHC-II positive cells (P<0.001) and the concentration of IL-1β (P<0.001) in the hippocampus of HFD-induced obese mice compared to the control group. Treadmill exercise was found to reduce the number of MHC-II positive cells (P<0.001) and the concentration of IL-1β (P<0.001) in the hippocampus of obese mice induced by a HFD. ConclusionTreadmill exercise led to enhanced neurogenesis and neuroplasticity by increasing the axon length, dendritic complexity, dendritic spine numbers, and the expression of PSD95 and DCX, decreasing the number of MHC-II positive cells and neuroinflammation in HFD-induced obese mice. Therefore, we speculate that exercise may serve as a non-pharmacologic method that protects against HFD-induced hippocampus-dependent memory dysfunction by enhancing neuroplasticity and neurogenesis in the hippocampus of obese mice.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of molecular targeted agents in children with progressive pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGG). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on pLGG patients treated with oral targeted therapies at the Department of Pediatrics, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, from July 2021. Treatment responses and safety profiles were assessed. RESULTS: Among the 20 enrolled patients, the trametinib group (n=12, including 11 cases with BRAF fusions and 1 case with BRAF V600E mutation) demonstrated 4 partial responses (33%) and 2 minor responses (17%), with a median time to response of 3.0 months. In the vemurafenib group (n=6, all with BRAF V600E mutation), 5 patients achieved partial responses (83%), showing a median time to response of 1.0 month. Comparative analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in progression-free survival rates between the two treatment groups (P>0.05). The median duration of clinical benefit (defined as partial response + minor response + stable disease) was 11.0 months for vemurafenib and 18.0 months for trametinib. Two additional cases, one with ATM mutation treated with olaparib for 24 months and one with NF1 mutation receiving everolimus for 21 months, discontinued treatment due to sustained disease stability. No severe adverse events were observed in any treatment group. CONCLUSIONS Molecular targeted therapy demonstrates clinical efficacy with favorable tolerability in pLGG. Vemurafenib achieves high response rates and induces early tumor shrinkage in patients with BRAF V600E mutations, supporting its utility as a first-line therapy.
Humans ; Glioma/genetics* ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Retrospective Studies ; Brain Neoplasms/genetics* ; Molecular Targeted Therapy/adverse effects* ; Adolescent ; Infant ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf/genetics* ; Pyrimidinones/therapeutic use* ; Mutation

The continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants as well as other potential future coronavirus has challenged the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore, there remains a need for alternative antivirals that target processes less susceptible to mutations, such as the formation of six-helix bundle (6-HB) during the viral fusion step of host cell entry. In this study, a novel high-throughput screening (HTS) assay employing a yeast-two-hybrid (Y2H) system was established to identify inhibitors of HR1/HR2 interaction. The compound IMB-9C, which achieved single-digit micromolar inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 and its Omicron variants with low cytotoxicity, was selected. IMB-9C effectively blocks the HR1/HR2 interaction in vitro and inhibits SARS-CoV-2-S-mediated cell-cell fusion. It binds to both HR1 and HR2 through non-covalent interaction and influences the secondary structure of HR1/HR2 complex. In addition, virtual docking and site-mutagenesis results suggest that amino acid residues A930, I931, K933, T941, and L945 are critical for IMB-9C binding to HR1. Collectively, in this study, we have developed a novel screening method for HR1/HR2 interaction inhibitors and identified IMB-9C as a potential antiviral small molecule against COVID-19 and its variants.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between acupuncture during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and the live birth rate (LBR) using different propensity score methods. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, eligible women who underwent a COH were divided into acupuncture and non-acupuncture groups. The primary outcome was LBR, as determined by propensity score matching (PSM). LBR was defined as the delivery of one or more living infants that reached a gestational age over 28 weeks after embryo transfer. The propensity score model encompassed 16 confounding variables. To validate the results, sensitivity analyses were conducted using three additional propensity score methods: propensity score adjustment, inverse probability weighting (IPW), and IPW with a "doubly robust" estimator. RESULTS: The primary cohort encompassed 9751 patients (1830 [18.76%] in the acupuncture group and 7921 [81.23%] in the non-acupuncture group). Following 1:1 PSM, a higher LBR was found in the acupuncture cohort (41.4% [755/1824] vs 36.4% [664/1824], with an odds ratio of 1.23 [95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.41]). Three additional propensity score methods produced essentially similar results. The risk of serious adverse events did not significantly differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION This retrospective study revealed an association between acupuncture and an increased LBR among patients undergoing COH, and that acupuncture is a safe and valuable treatment option. Please cite this article as: Zheng XY, Jiang ZY, Li YT, Li CL, Zhu H, Yu Z, Yu SY, Yang LL, Tang SY, Lü XY, Liang FR, Yang J. Association between acupuncture and live birth rates after fresh embryo transfer: A cohort study based on different propensity score methods. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):528-536.
Humans ; Female ; Propensity Score ; Embryo Transfer ; Adult ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Pregnancy ; Live Birth ; Birth Rate ; Cohort Studies

Objective As primary Sj?gren's syndrome(pSS)primarily affects the salivary glands,saliva can serve as an indicator of the glands'pathophysiology and the disease's status.This study aims to illustrate the salivary proteomic profiles of pSS patients and identify potential candidate biomarkers for diagnosis. Methods The discovery set contained 49 samples(24 from pSS and 25 from age-and gender-matched healthy controls[HCs])and the validation set included 25 samples(12 from pSS and 13 from HCs).Totally 36 pSS patients and 38 HCs were centrally randomized into the discovery set or to the validation set at a 2:1 ratio.Unstimulated whole saliva samples from pSS patients and HCs were analyzed using a data-independent acquisition(DIA)strategy on a 2D LC-HRMS/MS platform to reveal differential proteins.The crucial proteins were verified using DIA analysis and annotated using gene ontology(GO)and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts(IPA)analysis.A prediction model for SS was established using random forests. Results A total of 1,963 proteins were discovered,and 136 proteins exhibited differential representation in pSS patients.The bioinformatic research indicated that these proteins were primarily linked to immunological functions,metabolism,and inflammation.A panel of 19 protein biomarkers was identified by ranking order based on P-value and random forest algorichm,and was validated as the predictive biomarkers exhibiting good performance with area under the curve(AUC)of 0.817 for discovery set and 0.882 for validation set. Conclusions The candidate protein panel discovered may aid in pSS diagnosis.Salivary proteomic analysis is a promising non-invasive method for prognostic evaluation and early and precise treatments for pSS patients.DIA offers the best time efficiency and data dependability and may be a suitable option for future research on the salivary proteome.

Diabetic kidney disease(DKD)is one of the most important complications of diabetes.In recent years,domestic and foreign studies have found that mammalian target protein of rapamycin(mTOR)related signaling pathway is a classic pathway involved in the regulation of autophagy,which can achieve the therapeutic effect of DKD by targeting the autophagy pathway,and plays a crucial role in the prevention and treatment of DKD.In this paper,we reviewed the mechanism of mTOR-related signaling pathway targeted autophagy in the prevention and treatment of DKD,in order to provide a new reference and basis for clinical prevention and treatment of DKD.

Objective To understand the distribution and antimicrobial resistance changes of bacteria isolated from pleural and peritoneal effusion in Hunan Province,and provide reference for correct clinical diagnosis and rational antimicrobial use.Methods Data reported by member units of Hunan Provincial Antimicrobial Resistance Survei-llance System from 2012 to 2021 were collected.Bacteria antimicrobial resistance surveillance method was imple-mented according to technical scheme of China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System(CARSS),and WHO-NET 5.6 software was used to analyze the data of bacteria isolated from pleural and peritoneal effusion as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing results.Results From 2012 to 2021,a total of 28 934 bacterial strains were iso-lated from specimens of pleural and peritoneal effusions from member units of Hunan Provincial Antimicrobial Re-sistance Surveillance System,with 5 752 strains from pleural effusion and 23 182 from peritoneal effusion.The top five bacteria isolated from pleural effusion were Escherichia coli(n=907,15.8％),Staphylococcus aureus(n=535,9.3％),Klebsiella pneumoniae(n=369,6.4％),Staphylococcus epidermidis(n=452,7.9％),and Staphy-lococcus haemolyticus(n=285,5.0％).The detection rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MR-SA)from pleural effusion was 24.3％-39.2％,and that of methicillin-resistant coagulase negative Staphylococcus(MRCNS)was 58.8％-77.1％.The top five bacteria isolated from peritoneal effusion were Escherichia coli(n=8 264,35.6％),Klebsiella pneumoniae(n=2 074,9.0％),Enterococcus faecium(n=1 458,6.3％),Staphylo-coccus epidermidis(n=1 383,6.0％),and Pseudomonas aeruginosa(n=1 152,5.0％).The detection rate of MRSA from peritoneal effusion was 22.1％-52.4％,which presented a decreasing trend(P=0.004).The detec-tion rate of MRCNS was 60.4％-79.4％.The resistance rates of Enterobacterales from peritoneal effusion to ce-fazolin,cefuroxime,ceftriaxone and cefepime all showed decreasing trends(all P＜0.05).Vancomycin-,linezo-lid-,and teicoplanin-resistant Staphylococcus strains were not found in pleural and peritoneal effusions.The resis-tance rates of Enterococcus faecium to most tested antimicrobial agents were higher than those of Enterococcus fae-calis.The resistance rates of Enterobacterales to imipenem and meropenem were ≤8.5％.The resistance rates of non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli to imipenem and meropenem were ≤43.3％.Conclusion The data structure of Hunan Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System for pleural and peritoneal effusions from 2012 to 2021 is relatively complete.The constituent and antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated pathogenic bacteria vary in different years.

Objective To understand the epidemiology of clinically isolated Acinetobacter baumannii(A.bauma-nnii)in Hunan Province.Methods Bacterial antimicrobial resistance surveillance was carried out according to the requirements of the technical program of National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System.Clinical data of Acinetobacter spp.reported to Hunan Provincial Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System by multiple centers in Hunan Province from 2012 to 2021 were summarized and analyzed with reference to the standards of the American Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.Results A total of 169 438 strains of Acinetobacter spp.were detected during the 10-year period,with the detection rate of A.baumannii being the highest(82.74％).70 923 strains(53.63％)of carbapenem-resistant A.baumannii(CRAB)and 58 149 strains(43.97％)of carbapenem-sensitive A.baumannii(CSAB)were detected respectively.Both CRAB and CSAB were detected most frequently in the age group＞70 years,which were 34.44％and 32.02％,respectively.The percentage of CRAB and CSAB detected in the intensive care unit were 34.80％and 11.31％,respectively.CRAB and CSAB were mainly isolated from spu-tum/bronchoalveolar lavage fluid,followed by pus/secretion,urine,and blood.The resistance rates of CRAB to commonly used antimicrobial agents didn't change much during the 10-year period.Resistance rates of CRAB to ceftazidime and cefepime were both＞84％,to ampicillin/sulbactam and piperacillin/tazobactam were both＞82％,to aminoglycosides and quinolones were both＞59％,to minocycline and polymyxin B were 15.9％-25.0％and 1.3％-6.9％,respectively.CSAB were sensitive to commonly used antimicrobial agents.Conclusion The isolation rate of CRAB is high and there is no significant change in resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism by which Chinese medicine Shengmai Yin (SMY) reverses epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through lipocalin-2 (LCN2) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells CNE-2R. METHODS: Morphological changes in EMT in CNE-2R cells were observed under a microscope, and the expressions of EMT markers were detected using quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blot assays. Through the Gene Expression Omnibus dataset and text mining, LCN2 was found to be highly related to radiation resistance and EMT in NPC. The expressions of LCN2 and EMT markers following SMY treatment (50 and 100 µ g/mL) were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot assays in vitro. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities were measured using colony formation, wound healing, and transwell invasion assays, respectively. The inhibitory effect of SMY in vivo was determined by observing a zebrafish xenograft model with a fluorescent label. RESULTS: The CNE-2R cells showed EMT transition and high expression of LCN2, and the use of SMY (5, 10 and 20 µ g/mL) reduced the expression of LCN2 and reversed the EMT in the CNE-2R cells. Compared to that of the CNE-2R group, the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of SMY high-concentration group were weakened (P<0.05). Moreover, SMY mediated tumor growth and metastasis in a dose-dependent manner in a zebrafish xenograft model, which was consistent with the in vitro results. CONCLUSIONS SMY can reverse the EMT process of CNE-2R cells, which may be related to its inhibition of LCN2 expression. Therefore, LCN2 may be a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in patients with NPC.
Animals ; Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/genetics* ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Zebrafish ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Cell Movement ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic