The accumulation of uremic toxins such as urea nitrogen, blood creatinine, and uric acid of patients with renal failure in vivo would lead to aggravated kidney damage. In this study, coated aldehyde oxy-starch (CAO) was used as an adsorbent to investigate its in vitro adsorption performance on renal failure indexes for urea, indoxyl sulfate (INS), monomethylamine (MMA), dimethylamine (DMA), uric acid (UA), and creatinine (Cr). The effects of variables such as pH, temperature, concentration, dosage, and time on the adsorption capacity of CAO were systematically investigated, employing analytical techniques of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). The results revealed that CAO exhibited a strong adsorption capacity for urea, INS, and MMA, alongside a moderate adsorption capacity for DMA, UA, and Cr. The adsorption kinetics and thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption of urea and UA by CAO were fitted in pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the adsorption isotherm aligned with the Freundlich adsorption model. The enthalpy change ΔH of urea in adsorption was in the range of 40 to 60 kJ·mol^-1, which demonstrated the presence of strong adsorption force due to the interactions of coordinating groups. The ΔH of UA was greater than 80 kJ·mol^-1, indicating the generation of chemical bonds during the adsorption. Both of them, Gibbs free energy ΔG was less than 0, within the range of -20 to 0 kJ·mol^-1, suggested that the adsorption of urea and UA by CAO occurred spontaneously as physical adsorption process. The adsorption entropy ΔS of urea and UA was > 0, which indicated an increase in entropy throughout the adsorption. The infrared spectroscopygram showed the formation of a chemical bond, specifically the imine bond, following the adsorption of urea by CAO, thereby indicating a chemical reaction during the adsorption. This study elucidates the adsorption mechanism of CAO on various indexes of renal failure, providing a scientific basis for its clinical usage.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the short-and med-term clinical efficacy of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty(UKA)for the treatment of medial knee osteoarthritis (OA) in elderly patients with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency(ACLD). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 31 patients aged over 75 years old with primary medial knee OA and ACLD who underwent UKA between January 2018 and December 2022. The cohort included 12 males and 19 females, aged from 75 to 91 years with an average age of (79.56±4.54) years, with 13 left knee, 16 right knee, and 2 bilateral knees. Clinical outcomes were assessed preoperatively and at final follow-up using the visual analogue scale (VAS), Hospital for Special Surgery(HSS) score, range of motion (ROM), hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA), and tibial component posterior slope angle (TCPSA). Complications such as infection, prosthesis wear, prosthesis loosening, and dislocation were also recorded. RESULTS: All 31 patients were followed up from 12 to 63 months with an average of (28.34±10.56) months. The average postoperative TCPSA was (4.83±1.31)° ranged from 2.5° to 6.8°. At the final follow-up, there was significant improvement in VAS (3.24±0.53) vs. (6.59±0.69), HSS score (85.19±4.45) vs. (64.38±5.94), ROM (118.83±5.38)° vs. (98.85±4.08)°, and HKA (176.83±5.16)° vs. (169.57±6.28)° compared to preoperative values (P<0.05). No cases of infection, prosthesis loosening, or dislocation were reported. CONCLUSION UKA provides favorable short-and mid-term outcomes for elderly patients with medial knee OA and ACLD . However, long-term clinical efficacy needs further investigation through extended follow-up.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee/methods* ; Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/physiopathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Aged, 80 and over ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the early clinical results and safety of Stand-alone OLIF application of lumbar lesions, and explored its surgical indications. METHODS: Total of 92 cases of lumbar spine lesions treated with Stand-alone OLIF at two medical centers from October 2014 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, including 30 males and 62 females with an average age of (61.20±12.94) years old ranged from 32 to 83 years old. There were 20 cases of lumbar spinal stenosis, 15 cases of lumbar disc degeneration, 11 cases of lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis, 6 cases of discogenic low back pain, 7 cases of giant lumbar disc herniation, 13 cases of primary lumbar discitis, 6 cases of adjacent vertebral disease after lumbar internal fixation surgery, and 14 cases of degenerative lumbar scoliosis. Pre-operative dual energy X-ray bone density examination 31 cases' T-values ranged from -1 to -2.4, 8 cases' T-values ranged from -2.5 to -3.5, and the rest had normal bone density. The number of fusion segments: 68 cases of single segment, 9 cases of two segment, 12 cases of three segment , and 3 cases of four segment. Fusion site:L_1,2 1 case, L_2,3 4 cases, L_3,4 10 cases, L_4,5 53 cases, L_2,3-L_3,4 3 cases, L_3,4-L_4,5 6 cases, L_1,2L_2,3L_3,4 1 case, L_1,2L_3,4L_4,5 1 case, L_2,3L_3,4L_4,5 10 cases, L_1,2L_2,3L_3,4L_4,5 3 cases. The clinical results and imaging results of this group of cases were observed, as well as the complications. RESULTS: The surgical time ranged from 40 to 140 minutes with an average of (60.92±27.40) minutes. The intraoperative bleeding volume was 20 to 720 ml with an average of (68.22±141.60) ml. The patients had a follow-up period of 6 to 84 months with an average of (38.50±12.75) months. The height of the intervertebral space recovered from (9.23±1.94) mm in preoperative to (12.68±2.01) mm in postoperative, and (9.11±1.72) mm at the last follow-up, there was a statistically significant difference(F=6.641, P=0.008);there was also a statistically significant difference between the postoperative and preoperative height of the intervertebral space(t=9.27, P<0.000 1);and there was also a statistically significant difference (t=10.06, P<0.000 1) between the last follow-up and postoperative height of the intervertebral space. At the last follow-up, cage subsidence grading was as follows:level 0 in 69 cases (76 segments), levelⅠin 17 cases (43 segments), level Ⅱin 5 cases (14 segments), and level Ⅲ in 1 case (1 segment);according to the number of segments, normal subsidence accounts for 56.72%, abnormal subsidence accounts for 43.28%. Bone mineral desity of normal subsidence groups was -0.50±0.07 whinch was better than that the abnormal subsidence groups -2.10±0.43, and the difference was statistically significant(χ²=2.275, P=0.014). As well as there was a statistically significant difference in the patient's VAS of backache from (6.28±2.11) in preoperative to (1.48±0.59) in last follow-up(t=8.56, P<0.05). The ODI recovered from (36.30±7.52)% before surgery to (10.20±2.50)% at the last follow-up, with a statistically significant difference (t=7.79, P<0.000 1). Complications involved 4 cases of intraoperative vascular injury, 21 cases of endplate injury, and 4 cases of combined vertebral fractures. The incision skin has no necrosis or infection. There were 4 cases of left sympathetic chain injury, 4 cases of transient left hip flexion weakness, 2 cases of left thigh anterolateral numbness with quadriceps femoris weakness, and 1 case of incomplete intestinal obstruction;8 cases were treated with posterior pedicle screw fixation due to fusion cage settlement accompanied by stubborn lower back pain, and 6 cases were treated with fusion cage settlement and lateral displacement. According to the actual number of cases, there were 38 complications, with an incidence rate of 41.3%. CONCLUSION The application of Stand alone OLIF in lumbar spine disease fusion has achieved good early results, with obvious clinical advantages, but also there are high probability of complications. It is recommended to choose carefully. It is necessary to continuously summarize and gradually clarify and complete the surgical indications and specific case selection criteria.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fusion/methods* ; Lumbar Vertebrae/injuries* ; Aged ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Aged, 80 and over

PURPOSE: To investigate the protective effect of sub-hypothermic mechanical perfusion combined with membrane lung oxygenation on ischemic hypoxic injury of yorkshire brain tissue caused by traumatic blood loss. METHODS: This article performed a random controlled trial. Brain tissue of 7 yorkshire was selected and divided into the sub-low temperature anterograde machine perfusion group (n = 4) and the blank control group (n = 3) using the random number table method. A yorkshire model of brain tissue injury induced by traumatic blood loss was established. Firstly, the perfusion temperature and blood oxygen saturation were monitored in real-time during the perfusion process. The number of red blood cells, hemoglobin content, NA⁺, K⁺, and Ca²⁺ ions concentrations and pH of the perfusate were detected. Following perfusion, we specifically examined the parietal lobe to assess its water content. The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were then dissected for histological evaluation, allowing us to investigate potential regional differences in tissue injury. The blank control group was sampled directly before perfusion. All statistical analyses and graphs were performed using GraphPad Prism 8.0 Student t-test. All tests were two-sided, and p value of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: The contents of red blood cells and hemoglobin during perfusion were maintained at normal levels but more red blood cells were destroyed 3 h after the perfusion. The blood oxygen saturation of the perfusion group was maintained at 95% - 98%. NA⁺ and K⁺ concentrations were normal most of the time during perfusion but increased significantly at about 4 h. The Ca²⁺ concentration remained within the normal range at each period. Glucose levels were slightly higher than the baseline level. The pH of the perfusion solution was slightly lower at the beginning of perfusion, and then gradually increased to the normal level. The water content of brain tissue in the sub-low and docile perfusion group was 78.95% ± 0.39%, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (75.27% ± 0.55%, t = 10.49, p < 0.001), and the difference was statistically significant. Compared with the blank control group, the structure and morphology of pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex and CA1 region of the hippocampal gyrus were similar, and their integrity was better. The structural integrity of granulosa neurons was destroyed and cell edema increased in the perfusion group compared with the blank control group. Immunofluorescence staining for glail fibrillary acidic protein and Iba1, markers of glial cells, revealed well-preserved cell structures in the perfusion group. While there were indications of abnormal cellular activity, the analysis showed no significant difference in axon thickness or integrity compared to the 1-h blank control group. CONCLUSIONS Mild hypothermic machine perfusion can improve ischemia and hypoxia injury of yorkshire brain tissue caused by traumatic blood loss and delay the necrosis and apoptosis of yorkshire brain tissue by continuous oxygen supply, maintaining ion homeostasis and reducing tissue metabolism level.
Animals ; Perfusion/methods* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Brain Injuries/etiology* ; Swine ; Male ; Hypothermia, Induced/methods*

OBJECTIVES: To explore the mediating role of sleep duration in the relationship between depression symptoms and myopia among middle school students. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional research conducted using a stratified cluster random sampling method. A total of 1 728 middle school students were selected from two junior high schools and two senior high schools in certain urban areas and farms of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Questionnaire surveys and vision tests were conducted among the students. Spearman analysis was used to analyze the correlation between depression symptoms, sleep duration, and myopia. The Bootstrap method was employed to investigate the mediating effect of sleep duration between depression symptoms and myopia. RESULTS: The prevalence of myopia in the overall population was 74.02% (1 279/1 728), with an average sleep duration of (7.6±1.0) hours. The rate of insufficient sleep was 83.62% (1 445/1 728), and the proportion of students exhibiting depression symptoms was 25.29% (437/1 728). Correlation analysis showed significant negative correlations between visual acuity in both eyes and sleep duration with depressive emotions as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (with correlation coefficients of -0.064, -0.084, and -0.199 respectively; P<0.01), as well as with somatic symptoms and activities (with correlation coefficients of -0.104, -0.124, and -0.233 respectively; P<0.01) and interpersonal relationships (with correlation coefficients of -0.052, -0.059, and -0.071 respectively; P<0.05). The correlation coefficients for left and right eye visual acuity and sleep duration were 0.206 and 0.211 respectively (P<0.001). Sleep duration exhibited a mediating effect between depression symptoms and myopia (indirect effect=0.056, 95%CI: 0.029-0.088), with the mediating effect value for females (indirect effect=0.066, 95%CI: 0.024-0.119) being higher than that for males (indirect effect=0.042, 95%CI: 0.011-0.081). CONCLUSIONS Sleep duration serves as a partial mediator between depression symptoms and myopia in middle school students.
Humans ; Myopia/etiology* ; Male ; Female ; Depression/physiopathology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Sleep ; Adolescent ; Students ; Child ; Time Factors ; Sleep Duration

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Iron overload is strongly associated with heart disease. Ferroptosis is a new form of regulated cell death indicated in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the specific molecular mechanism of myocardial injury caused by iron overload in the heart is still unclear, and the involvement of ferroptosis in iron overload-induced myocardial injury is not fully understood. In this study, we observed that ferroptosis participated in developing of iron overload and I/R-induced cardiomyopathy. Mechanistically, we discovered that Parkin inhibited iron overload-induced ferroptosis in cardiomyocytes by promoting the ubiquitination of long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 4 (ACSL4), a crucial protein involved in ferroptosis-related lipid metabolism pathways. Additionally, we identified p53 as a transcription factor that transcriptionally suppressed Parkin expression in iron-overloaded cardiomyocytes, thereby regulating iron overload-induced ferroptosis. In animal studies, cardiac-specific Parkin knockout mice (Myh6-CreER ^T2 /Parkin ^fl/fl ) fed a high-iron diet presented more severe myocardial damage, and the high iron levels exacerbated myocardial I/R injury. However, the ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 significantly suppressed iron overload-induced ferroptosis and myocardial I/R injury. Moreover, Parkin effectively protected against impaired mitochondrial function and prevented iron overload-induced mitochondrial lipid peroxidation. These findings unveil a novel regulatory pathway involving p53-Parkin-ACSL4 in heart disease by inhibiting of ferroptosis.

In this experiment, self-assembled nanoparticles(SANs) were prepared by the pH-driven method, and Her-HCP SAN was constructed by using herpetrione(Her) and Herpetospermum caudigerum polysaccharides(HCPs). The average particle size and polydispersity index(PDI) were used as evaluation indexes for process optimization, and the quality of the final formulation was evaluated in terms of particle size, PDI, Zeta potential, and microstructure. The proposed Her-HCP SAN showed a spheroid structure and uniform morphology, with an average particle size of(244.58±16.84) nm, a PDI of 0.147 1±0.014 8, and a Zeta potential of(-38.52±2.11) mV. Her-HCP SAN significantly increased the saturation solubility of Her by 2.69 times, with a cumulative release of 90.18% within eight hours. The results of in vivo unidirectional intestinal perfusion reveal that Her active pharmaceutical ingredient(API) is most effectively absorbed in the jejunum, where both K_a and P_(app) are significantly higher compared to the ileum(P<0.001). However, the addition of HCP leads to a significant reduction in the P_(app) of Her in the jejunum(P<0.05). Furthermore, the formation of the Her-HCP SAN results in a notably lower P_(app) in the jejunum compared to Her API alone(P<0.001), while both K_a and P_(app) in the ileum are significantly increased(P<0.001, P<0.05). The absorption of Her-HCP SAN at different concentrations in the ileum shows no significant differences, and the pH has no significant effect on the absorption of Her-HCP SAN in the ileum. The addition of the transporter protein inhibitors(indomethacin and rifampicin) significantly increases the absorption parameters K_a and P_(app) of Her-HCP SAN in the ileum(P<0.05,P<0.01), whereas the addition of verapamil has no significant effect on the intestinal absorption parameters of Her-HCP SAN, suggesting that Her may be a substrate for multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 and breast cancer resistance proteins but not a substrate of P-glycoprotein.
Nanoparticles/metabolism* ; Polysaccharides/pharmacokinetics* ; Intestinal Absorption/drug effects* ; Animals ; Rats ; Particle Size ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacokinetics* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Drug Carriers/chemistry* ; Drug Compounding ; Cucurbitaceae/chemistry*

Based on serum metabolomics and gut microbiota technology, this study explores the effects and mechanisms of the water extract of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen(SZRW) and the petroleum ether extract of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen(SZRO) in improving depressive-like behaviors induced by sleep deprivation. A modified multi-platform water environment method was employed to establish a rat model of sleep deprivation. Depressive-like behaviors in rats were assessed through the sucrose preference test and forced swim test. The expression of barrier proteins, such as Occludin, in the colon was determined by immunofluorescence. UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS was utilized to analyze the serum metabolic profiles of sleep-deprived rats, screen for differential metabolites, and analyze metabolic pathways. The diversity of the gut microbiota was detected using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Spearman correlation coefficient analysis was conducted to assess the correlation between differential metabolites and gut microbiota. The results indicated that SZRO significantly increased the sucrose preference index and decreased the immobility time in the forced swim test in rats. A total of 34 differential metabolites were identified through serum metabolomics. SZRW and SZRO shared five metabolic pathways, including phenylalanine metabolism. SZRW uniquely featured taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, while SZRO uniquely featured linoleic acid metabolism and tyrosine metabolism. Correlation analysis revealed that SZRW could upregulate the abundance of Bilophila, promoting the production of indole-3-propionic acid and subsequently upregulating the expression levels of intestinal tight junction proteins such as ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-1. SZRO could indirectly influence metabolic pathways such as arginine metabolism and linoleic acid metabolism by upregulating the abundance of gut microbiota such as Coprococcus and Eubacterium species. Both SZRW and SZRO can regulate endogenous metabolism, including amino acids, energy, and lipids, alter the gut microbiota microecology, and improve depressive-like behaviors. SZRO demonstrated superior effects in regulating metabolic pathways and gut microbiota structure compared to SZRW. The findings of this study provide a scientific basis for elucidating the pharmacodynamic material basis of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen.
Animals ; Rats ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Male ; Metabolomics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Depression/blood* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sleep Deprivation/complications* ; Ziziphus/chemistry* ; Antidepressive Agents/administration & dosage* ; Behavior, Animal/drug effects* ; Humans