ObjectiveTo explore the effects and mechanisms of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang on hepatic oxidative stress injury in type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） rats based on the nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 （Nrf2）/heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1） axis. MethodSix ZDF （fa/+） rats were as assigned to the blank group， and 30 ZDF （fa/fa） rats were used to induce the T2DM model by feeding a high-fat diet. After successful modeling， the rats were randomly divided into the model group， metformin group （0.18 g·kg^-1）， and low， medium， and high dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang （0.54， 1.08， 2.16 g·kg^-1）， with six rats in each group. After 12 weeks of drug intervention， the body mass， liver mass， fasting blood glucose （FBG）， and oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） levels were measured. Serum total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerides （TG）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， and aspartate aminotransferase （AST） levels were detected using an automatic biochemical analyzer. The pathological changes of liver tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the activity of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， reactive oxygen species （ROS）， glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px）， and the level of malondialdehyde （MDA） in liver tissues. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of Nrf2 in the liver. Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 in liver tissues. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed a significant increase in body mass， liver mass， and liver index （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group and the medium and high dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed a significant decrease in body weight， liver mass， and liver index （P<0.01）. Compared with the normal group， the model group showed significantly increased TC， TG， and LDL levels （P<0.01）， and significantly decreased HDL levels （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group and all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly reduced TC levels （P<0.01）， and significantly reduced TG levels （P<0.05）. The medium and high dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly reduced LDL levels （P<0.05）. The metformin group and all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly increased HDL levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the normal group， the model group showed significantly increased ALT and AST activities （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang and the metformin group showed significantly reduced ALT activities （P<0.05） and significantly reduced AST activities （P<0.01）. Compared with normal group， the model group showed significantly increased FBG at all time points （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group and all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly reduced FBG at 8， 10， 12 weeks. The OGTT results showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had significantly increased blood glucose at all time points （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group showed significantly reduced blood glucose at all time points （P<0.01）， and the medium and high dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly reduced blood glucose at 90， 120 min （P<0.01）. HE pathology showed clear and regular liver cell structure in the normal group， while the model group showed disordered liver cell structure with visible fat vacuoles and a large number of deformed necrotic cells. The liver tissue structure improved in the metformin group and all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang， with fewer necrotic cells. Compared with the normal group， the model group showed significantly reduced SOD and GSH-Px levels （P<0.01）， and significantly increased ROS and MDA levels （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group and all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly increased SOD and GSH-Px levels （P<0.01）， and significantly reduced MDA levels （P<0.01）. The medium and high dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly reduced ROS levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the normal group， the model group showed significantly reduced Nrf2 and HO-1 mRNA expression levels （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group and the medium and high dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly increased Nrf2 and HO-1 mRNA expression levels （P<0.05）. Immunohistochemistry showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had significantly reduced positive expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group and all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed increased positive expression of Nrf2 and HO-1， with a significant increase in brown-yellow granules around the cell nucleus （P<0.05）. Western blot results showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had significantly reduced protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the metformin group and all doses of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly increased protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 （P<0.01）. ConclusionModified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang can significantly improve the general condition and pathological changes of liver tissues in T2DM model rats. This improvement is likely achieved through ameliorating hepatic oxidative stress injury via regulating the Nrf2/HO-1 axis.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang on mitochondrial autophagy and browning of visceral adipose tissue in obese type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） model ZDF rats. MethodForty ZDF rats were induced with a high-fat diet to establish an obese T2DM model. The rats were randomly divided into five groups： Model group， metformin group （0.18 g·kg^-1）， and high， medium， and low dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang （2.16， 1.08， 0.54 g·kg^-1）， with eight rats in each group. Additionally， eight ZDF （fa/+） rats were assigned to the normal group. All groups received an intragastric volume of 10 mL·kg^-1， with the model and normal groups receiving the same volume of purified water once daily for 12 weeks. Fasting blood glucose （FBG） was regularly measured. After 12 weeks of intervention， the body weight， epididymal fat weight， and serum levels of glucose （GLU）， glycated serum protein （GSP）， triglyceride （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe pathological changes in epididymal fat tissue. Transmission electron microscopy （TEM） was employed to observe mitochondrial autophagy in adipocytes. Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α）， Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 3 （BNIP3）， microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B （LC3B）， p62/SQSTM1， uncoupling protein 1 （UCP1）， iodothyronine deiodinase 2 （Dio2）， and PR domain containing 16 （Prdm16） in epididymal fat. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of HIF-1α， BNIP3， LC3B， p62， and UCP1 in epididymal fat. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed pathological changes in epididymal fat， with adipocyte mitochondrial condensation and numerous autophagosomes indicating mitochondrial autophagy. The model group also exhibited significantly increased body weight， epididymal fat weight， FBG， GLU， GSP， TC， TG， and LDL-C levels （P<0.01）， significantly decreased HDL-C levels （P<0.01）， significantly elevated mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1α， BNIP3， and LC3B （P<0.01）， significantly reduced mRNA and protein expression of p62 and UCP1 （P<0.01）， and significantly reduced mRNA expression of Dio2 and Prdm16 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， all intervention groups showed varying degrees of improvement in epididymal fat pathology. The metformin group and high-dose modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang group displayed intact mitochondrial morphology， clear cristae， uniform matrix， and few autophagosomes and autophagosomes in the adipocyte cytoplasm. The metformin group and high- and medium-dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang showed significantly reduced body weight and epididymal fat weight （P<0.01）. The epididymal fat index was reduced in all intervention groups （P<0.05）， and FBG was lowered in all intervention groups （P<0.01）.Serum GSP， GLU， TG， and LDL-C levels were reduced in the metformin group and the high- and medium-dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The serum TC level was significantly reduced in the metformin group and high-dose group of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang （P<0.01）， and HDL-C levels were significantly increased in all intervention groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1α， BNIP3， and LC3B were significantly reduced， and UCP1 protein expression was significantly increased in the metformin group and high- and medium-dose groups of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The mRNA and protein expression of p62， Dio2， and Prdm16 were significantly increased in the metformin group and high-dose group of modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionModified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang may inhibit mitochondrial autophagy and promote the browning of visceral adipose tissue through the HIF-1α/BNIP3/LC3B pathway， thereby improving glucose and lipid metabolism in obese T2DM rats.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） is based on insulin resistance （IR） and insulin secretion deficiency， with the specific mechanisms still unclear. Current research involves mechanisms such as glycolipid toxicity， inflammatory response， oxidative stress damage， and mitochondrial dysfunction. Modern traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） scholars have named it "blood glucose collateral disease" based on the clinical characteristics and natural progression of T2DM. This condition is primarily manifested as abnormal blood sugar levels in the early stages， and as the disease progresses， it gradually causes widespread damage to the body's veins and collaterals， ultimately leading to lesions in vessels and collaterals. Among these， "spleen heat" （obesity type） is the most common clinical type of T2DM. The concept of "internal heat-induced elimination" runs through both the onset and complications of T2DM， with internal heat being a key factor in its pathogenesis. The clinical application of Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang and its modifications has achieved significant therapeutic effects. This paper reviews the origins and treatment characteristics of Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang， along with clinical application research and experimental studies related to T2DM treatment， involving mechanisms for regulating glucose and lipid metabolism disorders， improving IR， modulating inflammatory responses， combating oxidative stress damage， regulating autophagy-related signaling pathways， modulating intestinal flora， inhibiting pyroptosis， and alleviating endoplasmic reticulum stress， with the purpose to provide direction for further research on the prevention and treatment of T2DM and its related complications， to offer reference for developing Dahuang Huanglian Xiexintang as a rapid hypoglycemic Chinese patent medicine for obese T2DM， and to better guide the clinical promotion of this drug.

Objective To study the mechanical properties of titanium mesh and three-dimensional(3D)-printed metal vertebral body substitutes(VBS)to provide guidance for the selection and structural optimization of artificial vertebral implants in clinical practice.Methods The equivalent elastic modulus,equivalent yield strength,and structural failure mode of titanium mesh and 3D-printed porous,truss,and topologically optimized VBS were systematically investigated using compression tests.Results The elastic modulus of the titanium mesh(2 908.73±287.39 MPa)was only lower than that of the topologically optimized VBS.However,their structural strengths and stabilities were inadequate.The yield strength of the titanium mesh(46.61±4.85 MPa)was only higher than that of the porous VBS and it was the first to yield during compression.The porous VBS was insufficient for use as the vertebral implant owing to its poor mechanical strength(18.14±0.17 MPa-25.79±0.40 MPa).The truss VBS had good elastic modulus(2 477.86±55.19 MPa-2 620.08±194.36 MPa)and strength(77.61±0.50 MPa-88.42±1.07 MPa).However,the structural stability of the truss VBS was insufficient,and instability occurred easily during compression.The topologically optimized VBS had the highest elastic modulus(3 746.28±183.80 MPa)and yield strength(177.43±3.82 MPa)among all the tested VBS types,which could provide improved security and stability for artificial vertebral implant in vivo services.Conclusions Topology optimization results in a high strength and high stability VBS design.Moreover,it provides a large design space and great safety margin to provide increased possibilities for lightweight and new material design of future artificial vertebral implants.

OBJECTIVE To retrospectively summarize the CT and enhanced MRI imaging characteristics of common unilateral benign nasal and sinus lesions and to outline key points for differentiation from malignant lesions.METHODS A total of 134 cases of unilateral benign nasal and sinus lesions were included in this study,with preoperative sinus CT and enhanced MRI examinations performed.The imaging characteristics of CT and MRI,the extent of the lesions,and the involvement and destruction of surrounding bone and structures were recorded and summarized for each type of lesion.RESULTS Unilateral lesions on CT appeared as generally homogeneous soft tissue density shadows.The affected sinus bones showed internal calcification,localized bone hyperplasia of the sinus wall,extensive uniform centripetal bone hyperplasia and thickening of the sinus wall,expansive destruction of the sinus wall bone,and worm-eaten destruction of the sinus wall bone in 33,13,29,9,and 5 cases,respectively.On MRI T1WI,the lesions appeared as generally homogeneous isointense shadows.Enhanced T1 images showed mild,moderate,and significant enhancement in 3,10,and 108 cases,respectively,with 55 cases presenting as mixed signals.CONCLUSION The imaging manifestations of unilateral benign lesions vary.CT can clearly present high-density shadows such as calcifications within unilateral lesions and changes in surrounding bone.Enhanced MRI of the sinuses provides richer information about the different components within the lesions.Careful differentiation of unilateral lesions should be performed by combining the imaging characteristics of sinus CT and enhanced MRI.

Apparently balanced chromosomal structural rearrangements are known to cause male infertility and account for approximately 1% of azoospermia or severe oligospermia. However, the underlying mechanisms of pathogenesis and etiologies are still largely unknown. Herein, we investigated apparently balanced interchromosomal structural rearrangements in six cases with azoospermia/severe oligospermia to comprehensively identify and delineate cryptic structural rearrangements and the related copy number variants. In addition, high read-depth genome sequencing (GS) (30-fold) was performed to investigate point mutations causative of male infertility. Mate-pair GS (4-fold) revealed additional structural rearrangements and/or copy number changes in 5 of 6 cases and detected a total of 48 rearrangements. Overall, the breakpoints caused truncations of 30 RefSeq genes, five of which were associated with spermatogenesis. Furthermore, the breakpoints disrupted 43 topological-associated domains. Direct disruptions or potential dysregulations of genes, which play potential roles in male germ cell development, apoptosis, and spermatogenesis, were found in all cases (n = 6). In addition, high read-depth GS detected dual molecular findings in case MI6, involving a complex rearrangement and two point mutations in the gene DNAH1. Overall, our study provided the molecular characteristics of apparently balanced interchromosomal structural rearrangements in patients with male infertility. We demonstrated the complexity of chromosomal structural rearrangements, potential gene disruptions/dysregulation and single-gene mutations could be the contributing mechanisms underlie male infertility.
Azoospermia/genetics* ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Humans ; Infertility, Male/genetics* ; Male ; Oligospermia/genetics* ; Translocation, Genetic

Humans ; COVID-19 ; Consensus ; SARS-CoV-2 ; China

Objective:To analyze clinical and imaging features of Sturge-Weber syndrome in children.Methods:Clinical data were collected from 27 children with Sturge-Weber syndrome in Xuzhou Children′s Hospital, Xuzhou Medical University from July 2013 to December 2019, and analyzed retrospectively.Results:Among the 27 children, 17 were males and 10 were females. Their age at the clinic visit ranged from 2 days to 10 years and 7 months, and averaged 2.54 years. All the 27 patients presented with facial port-wine stains of varied color from light red to purple red, which were all distributed across the facial midline, including 21 with predominantly unilateral port-wine stains and 6 with bilateral symmetrical port-wine stains. There were 17 patients with ocular choroidal vascular malformations, including 14 with congenital glaucoma, 5 with high intraocular pressure, and 1 with optic nerve atrophy accompanied by transient blindness. Neurological impairment occurred in 12 patients, and all manifested as epilepsy. All the 27 children underwent imaging examination, and abnormalities were found in 20. Among the 10 patients with abnormal computed tomography images, local calcification was observed in 8, and local thickening of the skull on the side affected by skin lesions in 8; 13 of 14 patients with abnormal magnetic resonance imaging scan results had signs of brain atrophy, 9 showed enhanced gyrus-like blood vessel formation by enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, and 5 showed decreased branches of the anterior and middle cerebral artery on the affected facial side by magnetic resonance angiography.Conclusions:Children with Sturge-Weber syndrome are clinically characterized by predominantly unilateral port wine stains on the face, some of whom are accompanied by epilepsy, glaucoma or mental retardation, and imaging examinations mainly show local calcification, brain atrophy, local thickening of the skull plate, enhanced gyrus-like blood vessel formation, etc. Early definite diagnosis and comprehensive systemic treatment are needed to reduce disability and mortality rates in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome, and long-term follow-up should be considered.

Genomic studies of cancer cell alterations,such as mutations,copy number variations(CNVs),and translocations,greatly promote our understanding of the genesis and development of cancers.However,the 3D genome architecture of cancers remains less studied due to the complexity of cancer genomes and technical difficulties.To explore the 3D genome structure in clin-ical lung cancer,we performed Hi-C experiments using paired normal and tumor cells harvested from patients with lung cancer,combining with RNA sequenceing analysis.We demonstrated the feasibility of studying 3D genome of clinical lung cancer samples with a small number of cells(1×104),compared the genome architecture between clinical samples and cell lines of lung cancer,and identified conserved and changed spatial chromatin structures between normal and cancer sam-ples.We also showed that Hi-C data can be used to infer CNVs and point mutations in cancer.By integrating those different types of cancer alterations,we showed significant associations between CNVs,3D genome,and gene expression.We propose that 3D genome mediates the effects of cancer genomic alterations on gene expression through altering regulatory chromatin structures.Our study highlights the importance of analyzing 3D genomes of clinical cancer samples in addition to cancer cell lines and provides an integrative genomic analysis pipeline for future larger-scale studies in lung cancer and other cancers.

Objective: To reveal the related factors of inhibitors and differences ofhemorrhage and joint disease before and after the production of inhibitors in children with hemophilia A (HA) . Methods: Retrospective analyses of the clinical data of 381 children with HA under the age of 16 registered in the Registration Management Center of Hemophilia in Henan Provincial from January 2015 to August 2018. Results: A total of the 381 children were enrolled with 116 (30.4%) mild, 196 (51.4%) moderate, and 69 (18.1%) severe cases; 54 patients (14.2%) had inhibitors, including 22 high and 32 low titer inhibitors. Positive family history was positively associated with inhibitors[P<0.001, OR=3.299 (95%CI 1.743-5.983) ], and high-intensity exposure was associated with inhibitors[P=0.002, OR=2.587 (95%CI 1.414-4.731) ]. High-intensity exposure was associated with high titer inhibitor production[P=0.001, OR=8.689 (95%CI 2.464-30.638) ], and high-intensity exposure increased the risk of high titer inhibitors in HA patients. After inhibitors occurred in 54 patients with HA, the rates of overall joint annual bleeding (z=-3.440, P=0.001) and traumatic annual bleeding (z=-2.232, P=0.026) increased, but the rates of the annual joint bleeding (z=-1.342, P=0.180) and spontaneous annual bleeding (z=-1.414, P=0.157) remained to be not statistically significant. The joint ultrasound score did not change significantly after the inhibitor information (z=-0.632, P=0.527) . Conclusions Positive family history and high-intensity exposure could increase the risk of F Ⅷ inhibitors in HA patients, and high-intensity exposure increased the risk of high titer inhibitors. The rates of the overall joint annual bleeding and traumatic annual bleeding increased after the inhibitor information.