INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) are used in the diagnosis and prognostication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We wanted to determine the specific contributions of RF and ACPA to the biological nature of RA and whether they act synergistically. METHODS: We identified 731 patients from our prospective multi-ethnic RA cohort and categorised them into four groups: ACPA-positive, RF-positive, doubly positive and doubly negative. We compared the demographics, Disease Activity Score-28, Health Assessment Questionnaire score, quality of life using Short Form 36 and the use of prednisolone and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) of these patient groups. RESULTS: Four hundred and ninety-one patients (67.2%) were ACPA+RF+, 54 (7.4%) were ACPA+RF-, 82 (11.2%) were ACPA-RF+ and 104 (14.2%) were ACPA-RF-. Mean disease duration before the study entry was not different in the four groups. Patients with older age of onset were less likely to be positive for RF and ACPA. Fewer ACPA+RF+ patients were in remission compared to those in the other groups ( P < 0.05). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was higher at study entry in the ACPA+RF+ group (40.4 mm/h vs. 30.6-30.9 mm/h, P < 0.05). Prednisolone and number of DMARDs used were higher in the ACPA+RF+ group compared to the doubly negative group. There were no differences in the functional status and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS RA patients who were positive for both ACPA and RF had lower remission rate, higher baseline ESR and required more corticosteroid and DMARD treatment compared to those who were singly positive or doubly negative. Being doubly positive confers a worse outcome to RA patients.
Humans ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/diagnosis* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Rheumatoid Factor/blood* ; Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies/blood* ; Adult ; Quality of Life ; Prospective Studies ; Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Aged ; Peptides, Cyclic/immunology* ; Prednisolone/therapeutic use* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Severity of Illness Index ; Prognosis

This study investigates the effect and underlying mechanism of Guizhi Tongluo Tablets(GZTL) in treating atherosclerosis(AS) in a mouse model. Apolipoprotein E-knockout(ApoE~(-/-)) mice were randomly assigned to the following groups: model, high-, medium-, and low-dose GZTL, and atorvastatin(ATV), and age-matched C57BL/6J mice were selected as the control group. ApoE~(-/-) mice in other groups except the control group were fed with a high-fat diet for the modeling of AS and administrated with corresponding drugs via gavage for 8 weeks. General conditions, signs of blood stasis, and body mass of mice were monitored. Aortic plaques and their stability were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin, Masson, and oil red O staining. Serum levels of total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) were measured by biochemical assays, and those of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and interleukin-6(IL-6) were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Apoptosis was assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL). Single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq) was employed to analyze the differential expression of CD72hi macrophages(CD72hi-Mφ) in the aortas of AS patients and mice. The immunofluorescence assay was employed to visualize CD72hi-Mφ expression in mouse aortic plaques, and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was utilized to determine the mRNA levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the aorta. The results demonstrated that compared with the control group, the model group exhibited significant increases in body mass, aortic plaque area proportion, necrotic core area proportion, and lipid deposition, a notable decrease in collagen fiber content, and an increase in apoptosis. Additionally, the model group showcased elevated serum levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6, alongside marked upregulations in the mRNA levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the aorta. In comparison with the model group, the GZTL groups and the ATV group showed a reduction in body mass, and the medium-and high-dose GZTL groups and the ATV group demonstrated reductions in aortic plaque area proportion, necrotic core area proportion, and lipid deposition, an increase in collagen fiber content, and a decrease in apoptosis. Furthermore, the treatment goups showcased lowered serum levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6. The data of scRNA-seq revealed significantly elevated CD72hi-Mφ signaling in carotid plaques of AS patients compared with that in the normal arterial tissue. Animal experiments confirmed that CD72hi-Mφ expression, along with several pro-inflammatory cytokines, was significantly upregulated in the aortas of AS mice, which were downregulated by GZTL treatment. In conclusion, GZTL may alleviate AS by inhibiting CD72hi-Mφ activity.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Atherosclerosis/immunology* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Male ; Humans ; Apolipoproteins E/genetics* ; Tablets ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Interleukin-1beta/genetics* ; Interleukin-6/genetics* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice, Knockout

This study aims to investigate the potential effect of the water extract of fresh Rehmanniae Radix on hypercholesterolemia in mice that was induced by a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet and explore its possible mechanism from bile acid reabsorption. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned into the following groups: control, model, low-and high-dose(4 and 8 g·kg~(-1), respectively) fresh Rehmanniae Radix, and positive drug(simvastatin, 0.05 g·kg~(-1)). Other groups except the control group were fed with a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet for 6 consecutive weeks to induce hypercholesterolemia. From the 6th week, mice were administrated with corresponding drugs daily via gavage for additional 6 weeks, while continuing to be fed with a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet. Serum levels of total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-c), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol(HDL-c), and total bile acid(TBA), as well as liver TC and TG levels and fecal TBA level, were determined by commercial assay kits. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, oil red O staining, and transmission electron microscopy were performed to observe the pathological changes in the liver. Three livers samples were randomly selected from each of the control, model, and high-dose fresh Rehmanniae Radix groups for high-throughput transcriptome sequencing. Differentially expressed genes were mined and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis was performed to predict the key pathways and target genes of the water extract of fresh Rehmanniae Radix in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. RT-qPCR was employed to measure the mRNA levels of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase(CYP7A1) and cholesterol 27α-hydroxylase(CYP27A1) in the liver. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of CYP7A1 and CYP27A1 in the liver as well as farnesoid X receptor(FXR), apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter(ASBT), and ileum bile acid-binding protein(I-BABP) in the ileum. The results showed that the water extract of fresh Rehmanniae Radix significantly lowered the levels of TC and TG in the serum and liver, as well as the level of LDL-c in the serum. Conversely, it elevated the level of HDL-c in the serum and TBA in feces. No significant difference was observed in the level of TBA in the serum among groups. HE staining, oil red O staining, and transmission electron microscopy showed that the water extract reduced the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver. Further mechanism studies revealed that the water extract of fresh Rehmanniae Radix significantly down-regulated the protein levels of FXR and bile acid reabsorption-related proteins ASBT and I-BABP. Additionally, it enhanced CYP7A1 and CYP27A1, the key enzymes involved in bile acid synthesis. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the water extract of fresh Rehmanniae Radix may exert an anti-hypercholesterolemic effect by regulating FXR/ASBT/I-BABP signaling, inhibiting bile acid reabsorption, and increasing bile acid excretion, thus facilitating the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids.
Animals ; Male ; Bile Acids and Salts/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Cholesterol/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Hypercholesterolemia/genetics* ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear/genetics* ; Rehmannia/chemistry* ; Liver/drug effects* ; Humans ; Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase/genetics* ; Plant Extracts

To investigate the effects of phosphorus fertilizer on the morphological traits, active ingredients and rhizosphere soil microbial community of Polygala tenuifolia. The phosphorus fertilizer was calculated in terms of P_2O_5. Five treatments were set up: 0(CK), 17(P1), 34(P2), 51(P3), and 68(P4) kg per Mu(1 Mu≈667 m~2). A randomized block design was adopted. Samples of P. tenuifolia and its rhizosphere soil were collected under different superphosphate fertilizer treatments. Illumina high-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the rhizosphere soil microbial community, 9 morphological traits were measured and the content of 11 active ingredients were determined. The results showed that the whole plant weight, shoot fresh weight, root weight, and root peel thickness were the highest under P1 treatment, increasing by 34.41%, 38.80%, 39.21%, and 3.17% respectively compared to CK. Under P2 treatment, the plant height, stem diameter, root thickness, and core thickness were significantly higher than CK. Phosphorus fertilizer had a significant impact on the content of tenuifolin, sibiricose A5, sibiricose A6, arillanin A, 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose, and polygalaxanthone Ⅲ. Correlation analysis results showed that the relative abundance of Arthrobacter, Bacillus, norank＿f＿Vicinamibacteraceae, norank＿o＿Vicinamibacterales, MND1 and other bacteria, as well as the relative abundance of Neocosmospora, Paraphoma and other fungi were positively correlated with root diameter, wood core diameter, the whole plant weight, root weight, shoot fresh weight of P. tenuifolia. Bacillus, Neocosmospora, Subulicystidium were significantly positively correlated with oligosaccharides such as 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose, sibiricose A5、sibiricose A6、glomeratose A、arillanin A and tenuifoliside C. Arthrobacter, Humicola, Aspergillus, Paraphoma were positively correlated with tenuifolin and norank＿f＿Vicinamibacteraceae, norank＿o＿Vicinamibacterales, Fusarium were positively correlated with polygalaxanthone Ⅲ. Evidently, appropriate phosphorus application is conducive to the growth and quality improvement of P. tenuifolia, and can increase the abundance of beneficial microorganisms in the soil.
Rhizosphere ; Phosphorus/pharmacology* ; Soil Microbiology ; Polygala/anatomy & histology* ; Fertilizers/analysis* ; Bacteria/metabolism* ; Soil/chemistry* ; Microbiota/drug effects* ; Plant Roots/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between physical activity and genetic risk and their combined effects on the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 318,085 biobank participants from the UK. Physical activity was assessed using the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The participants were stratified into low-, intermediate-, and high-genetic-risk groups based on their polygenic risk scores. Multivariate Cox regression models and multiplicative interaction analyses were used. RESULTS: During a median follow-up period of 13 years, 9,209 participants were diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. For low genetic risk, compared to low physical activity, the hazard ratios ( HRs) for moderate and high physical activity were 0.853 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: 0.748-0.972) and 0.831 (95% CI: 0.727-0.950), respectively. For intermediate genetic risk, the HRs were 0.829 (95% CI: 0.758-0.905) and 0.835 (95% CI: 0.764-0.914), respectively. For participants with high genetic risk, the HRs were 0.809 (95% CI: 0.746-0.877) and 0.818 (95% CI: 0.754-0.888), respectively. A significant interaction was observed between genetic risk and physical activity. CONCLUSION Moderate or high levels of physical activity were associated with a lower risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease across all genetic risk groups, highlighting the need to tailor activity interventions for genetically susceptible individuals.
Humans ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/epidemiology* ; Exercise ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Aged ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Risk Factors ; United Kingdom/epidemiology* ; Incidence ; Adult

Objective To investigate the effects of canagliflozin combined with amiloride and benzamir on doxorubicin-induced ne-phrotic syndrome(NS)model rats.Methods A total of 49male SD rats were randomly divided into 7groups:normal control group(NG group),model group(MG group),canagliflozin group(KG group),benzamil group(BH group),amiloride group(AL group),cana-gliflozin+benzamil group(KB group)and canagliflozin+amiloride group(KA group),with 7 rats in each group.The NS model was established by injection of doxorubicin in the tail vein.The 24h-UTP of each group was detected one day before treatment to verify the successful preparation of the model.Each group was given intragastric administration according to the body weight of rats regularly every day,NG group and MG group were given equal amount of normal saline,the course of treatment was 6 weeks.After 6 weeks of treatment,the 24h-UTP,UNa,UK,UCl levels in urine and the albumin(ALB),triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low density lipopro-tein(LDL),Urea,Crea,CysC,SNa,SK,SCl levels in serum were measured,respectively.The expression of serum transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)and soluble thrombomodulin(sTM)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The expression of TGF-β1 gene was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).The renal pathology of rats in each group were tested by the hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and Masson staining.Results After successful modeling,the levels of 24h-UTP,TG,TC,LDL in the MG group were increased,while the levels of ALB was decreased(P＜0.05).After 6 weeks of drug intervention,compared with MG group,the levels of 24h-UTP,TC,TG,LDL were decreased,and the level of ALB was increased in all drug groups(P＜0.05),and the level of TGF-β1 was decreased in the KG group(P＜0.05),and the levels of CysC,UNa,TGF-β1,sTM was increased in the KA group(P＜0.05).The results of HE staining and Masson staining showed that typical characteristics of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis appeared in the renal tissue of rats in MG group,all drug groups were observed in varying degrees of improvement.Conclusion Canagliflozin,benzamil,amiloride alone and canagliflozin combined with benzatrimil and amiloride could improve the macroproteinuria,hypoproteinemia and hyperlipidemia of doxorubicin-induced NS model rats.Canagli-flozin alone can effectively reduce TGF-β1 expression and thereby reduce kidney inflammation,but the combination of canagliflozin and amiloride may cause renal insufficiency and endothelial injury.

Near infrared spectroscopy(NIRS)has emerged as an indispensable analytical technology for quality monitoring in industrial and agricultural production.It is widely used in quantitative analysis in areas such as food,agriculture and medicine.To meet the requirements of industrial and agricultural production,it is particularly important to develop a NIRS quantitative analysis model that can predict the multicomponent of different samples.In this study,the multicomponent quantitative analysis model of NIRS based on convolution neural network(MulCoSpecNet)was proposed.MulCoSpecNet was composed of an encoding and decoding module,an expert module,a gate module,a multicomponent quantitative prediction module,and a hyperparameter optimizer.The spectral noise and random errors were mitigated,and the signal-to-noise ratio was enhanced through up-sampling and down-sampling in the encoding and decoding module.Diverse weightings were employed by the expert module and gate module to construct distinct sub-spectra.The model prediction accuracy and generalization ability were enhanced by the multicomponent quantitative prediction module,which employed convolutional and pooling operations.The hyperparameters in the hyperparameter space were synchronously optimized by the hyperparameter optimizer.By taking public NIRS datasets of grain and corn as examples,the prediction results of MulCoSpecNet were compared with partial least squares(PLS),extreme learning machine(ELM),support vector regression(SVM)and back propagation neural network(BP).The results showed that compared to PLS,the prediction accuracy of MulCoSpecNet to grain and corn were increased by 25.5%?45.2%and 10.0%?35.7%,respectively.Compared to ELM,the prediction accuracy of MulCoSpecNet were increased by 17.8%?38.6%and 18.2%?37.2%,respectively.Compared to SVM,the prediction accuracy of MulCoSpecNet were increased by 33.6%?47.0%and 31.3%?50.7%,respectively.Compared to BP,the prediction accuracy of MulCoSpecNet were increased by 2.0%?58.5%and 29.6%?48.6%,respectively.The issues of low prediction accuracy and poor generalization ability were effectively solved by the MulCoSpecNet,which was a NIRS multicomponent prediction model based on convolutional neural network.It provided a theoretical foundation for establishing non-destructive and high-precision NIRS multicomponent quantitative analysis model.

The statement of"qi transformation leading to the removal of pathogenic dampness"was recorded in Wen Bing Tiao Bian(Analysis on Epidemic Febrile Diseases)written by the Qing Dynasty physician WU Ju-Tong.Dampness in the triple energizer is caused by the dysfunction of qi transformation,and the treatment of dampness must be based on the activation of qi movement and focused on the promotion of qi movement and the restoration of the qi transformation in the triple energizer.For the treatment of dampness attack in the upper energizer,therapies of dispersing lung to smooth qi and resolving dampness to relieve the obstruction are recommended.For the treatment of dampness obstruction in the middle energizer,therapy of activating spleen qi by strengthening spleen and moving qi is stressed for helping the removal of dampness and for the eradication of the source of dampness.For the treatment of dampness stagnation in the lower energizer,therapy of draining dampness with sweet-light medicines and activating yang can be used according to the illness status.The three methods of treating dampness,namely dispersing the upper energizer,activating the middle energizer and draining the lower energizer,all embody the mechanism of"qi transformation leading to the removal of pathogenic dampness",and the therapies of dispersing lung with light medicines,inducing perspiration by opening striated layer,eliminating dampness with aromatics and draining dampness with sweet-light medicines should be used in accordance with the syndromes.The elucidation of the academic thoughts of"qi transformation leading to the removal of pathogenic dampness"can provide theoretical reference for the fundamental research of dampness syndrome and clinical application of therapies for resolving dampness in Chinese medicine.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of Shen Jiang Zhouche Powder(composed of modified Lizhong Pill,Erchen Decoction,and Zhouche Pill)in the treatment of malignant pleural effusion(MPE)patients with fluid retention in the chest and hypochondrium syndrome.Methods Eighty MPE patients with fluid retention in the chest and hypochondrium syndrome were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group,with 40 cases in each group.Both groups were given conventional western medical treatment,and additionally the control group was treated with Spironolactone and Furosemide Tablets orally while the treatment group was treated with Shen Jiang Zhouche Powder orally.A total of 21 days constituted one course of treatment,and both groups were treated for two courses and then were followed up for one month.The changes of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores,scores of Karnofsky Performance Status(KPS)established by Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group(ECOG),and scores of self-rating scale of sleep(SRSS)in the two groups were observed before and after treatment.After treatment,the clinical efficacy,TCM syndrome efficacy and clinical safety of the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)After treatment and one-month follow-up,the total clinical effective rate in the treatment group was 67.5%(27/40)and that in the control group was 45.0%(18/40),and the intergroup comparison(by chi-square test)showed that the clinical efficacy of the treatment group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05).(2)After two courses of treatment,the total effective rate of TCM syndrome improvement in the treatment group was 92.5%(37/40)and that of the control group was 50.0%(20/40),and the intergroup comparison(by chi-square test)showed that the TCM syndrome efficacy in the treatment group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(3)After treatment,except for the score of dyspnea in the control group,the scores of each of the main symptoms(including dry cough,chest tightness,chest pain,tightness of breath,dyspnea)and accompanied symptoms as well as the total TCM syndrome scores in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),and the decrease of the scores of each of the main symptoms and accompanied symptoms as well as the total TCM syndrome scores were significantly superior to those in the control group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).(4)After treatment,the scores of KPS and SRSS in the two groups were significantly improved compared with those before treatment(P＜0.01),and the improvement in the treatment group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).(5)There were no obvious adverse reactions occurring in both groups,while only mild symptoms of the adverse reactions were presented.The incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group was 7.5%(3/40)and that in the control group was 12.5%(5/40),and the difference was not statistically significant between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Shen Jiang Zhouche Powder exerts certain clinical efficacy in the treatment of MPE patients with fluid retention in the chest and hypochondrium syndrome,which is effective on alleviating the clinical symptoms of TCM,and improving the quality of life of patients,without obvious toxicity or side effects.

Humans ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ; Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Renal Dialysis ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Heart Valve Prosthesis