ObjectiveThis paper aims to assess the effects of Wenfei Guyuan umbilical moxibustion on the quality of life and immune function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） in stable phase. MethodsA multi-center randomized controlled trial design was employed，and the 220 cases of patients with COPD in stable phase from three grade A class-Ⅲ hospitals were included as research objects. The patients were randomly divided into the test group and control group，with each group consisting of 110 cases. Both groups received standardized treatment of western medicine，and the test group received Wenfei Guyuan umbilical moxibustion twice weekly for 13 weeks，followed by a 26-week follow-up period. Quality of life was evaluated by using the COPD assessment test （CAT），the modified COPD patient-reported outcomes （mCOPD-PRO） measure，and the modified effectiveness satisfaction questionnaire for COPD （mESQ-COPD） before treatment，four weeks， eight weeks， and 13 weeks of the treatment period，as well as 13 weeks and 26 weeks of the follow-up period. The number of acute exacerbation cases of patients in both groups was recorded during study period to evaluate the effect of Wenfei Guyuan umbilical moxibustion on acute exacerbations. 30 cases were randomly selected in both observation group and control group. Peripheral blood samples were collected before treatment and at 13 weeks of treatment. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the levels of immunoglobulin A （IgA），immunoglobulin G （IgG），immunoglobulin M （IgM），interleukin 10 （IL-10），interleukin 17A （IL-17A），transforming growth factor β1 （TGF-β1），and tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α）. Flow cytometry was used to detect cluster of differentiation 4 positive （CD4⁺），cluster of differentiation 8 positive （CD8⁺），T helper 17 （Th17），and Treg levels， thereby preliminarily exploring the effect of Wenfei Guyuan umbilical moxibustion on immune function. ResultsA total of 220 patients were included，with five cases dropping out. 215 cases were finally included in the per-protocol set，including 107 in the treatment group and 108 in the control group. Baseline characteristics of the first two groups before treatment were compared between the two groups. In terms of life quality evaluation， the main effect of group differences on the CAT scores was significant （F=15.108，P<0.01）. The main effects of group differences on the physical domain （F=38.807，P<0.01），psychological domain （F=38.996，P<0.01），environmental domain （F=17.436，P<0.01），and total score of mCOPD-PRO （F=41.972，P<0.01） were significant. The main effects of group difference on clinical symptoms domain of mESQ-COPD （F=81.516，P<0.01），work-life ability domain （F=36.549，P<0.001），environmental adaptation ability domain （F=22.677，P<0.01），therapeutic effect domain （F=74.055，P<0.01），and total score of mESQ-COPD （F=73.251，P<0.01） were significant. Regarding acute exacerbations，during the entire study period，as well as the treatment period and follow-up period，the observation group showed fewer patients experiencing acute exacerbations compared to the control group，but the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. In terms of immune indicators，after 13 weeks of treatment，the levels of IgA，IgG，and IgM in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group （P<0.05）. The level of IL-10 was significantly higher than that in the control group （P<0.05），and the levels of IL-17A，TGF-β1，and TNF-α were significantly lower than those in the control group （P<0.05）. Compared with those in the control group，the level of CD4⁺/CD8⁺ in the observation group was significantly increased （P<0.05），while the levels of CD4⁺ and Treg were slightly increased，but the difference was not statistically significant. The levels of CD8⁺，Th17，and Th17/Treg were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. ConclusionWenfei Guyuan umbilical moxibustion can improve the quality of life， and immune function in patients with COPD in stable phase. It is worth promoting in clinical practice.

ObjectiveMagnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive neuroimaging technique, meticulously captures the magnetic fields emanating from brain electrical activity. Compared with MEG based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID), MEG based on optically pump magnetometer (OPM) has the advantages of higher sensitivity, better spatial resolution and lower cost. However, most of the current studies are clinical studies, and there is a lack of animal studies on MEG based on OPM technology. Pain, a multifaceted sensory and emotional phenomenon, induces intricate alterations in brain activity, exhibiting notable sex differences. Despite clinical revelations of pain-related neuronal activity through MEG, specific properties remain elusive, and comprehensive laboratory studies on pain-associated brain activity alterations are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of inflammatory pain (induced by Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA)) on brain activity in a rat model using the MEG technique, to analysis changes in brain activity during pain perception, and to explore sex differences in pain-related MEG signaling. MethodsThis study utilized adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Inflammatory pain was induced via intraplantar injection of CFA (100 μl, 50% in saline) in the left hind paw, with control groups receiving saline. Pain behavior was assessed using von Frey filaments at baseline and 1 h post-injection. For MEG recording, anesthetized rats had an OPM positioned on their head within a magnetic shield, undergoing two 15-minute sessions: a 5-minute baseline followed by a 10-minute mechanical stimulation phase. Data analysis included artifact removal and time-frequency analysis of spontaneous brain activity using accumulated spectrograms, generating spectrograms focused on the 4-30 Hz frequency range. ResultsMEG recordings in anesthetized rats during resting states and hind paw mechanical stimulation were compared, before and after saline/CFA injections. Mechanical stimulation elevated alpha activity in both male and female rats pre- and post-saline/CFA injections. Saline/CFA injections augmented average power in both sexes compared to pre-injection states. Remarkably, female rats exhibited higher average spectral power 1 h after CFA injection than after saline injection during resting states. Furthermore, despite comparable pain thresholds measured by classical pain behavioral tests post-CFA treatment, female rats displayed higher average power than males in the resting state after CFA injection. ConclusionThese results imply an enhanced perception of inflammatory pain in female rats compared to their male counterparts. Our study exhibits sex differences in alpha activities following CFA injection, highlighting heightened brain alpha activity in female rats during acute inflammatory pain in the resting state. Our study provides a method for OPM-based MEG recordings to be used to study brain activity in anaesthetized animals. In addition, the findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of pain-related neural activity and pain sex differences.

BACKGROUND:At present,research has only shown that the cervical lordosis ratio can be an important factor in predicting the loss of lordosis curvature after laminoplasty,and no one has studied whether the cervical lordosis ratio,a dynamic level indicator,can be one of the decision-making factors for the selection of posterior cervical surgical procedures. OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether the cervical lordosis ratio,an index of cervical hyperextension and hyperflexion,can be used as a selective index for laminoplasty and laminectomy fusion. METHODS:A retrospective review of 141 patients who had undergone posterior cervical surgery more than one year of follow-up due to multi-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy from December 2015 to March 2020 was performed.Among them,63 patients received laminectomy and fusion(laminectomy and fusion group)and 78 patients received laminoplasty(laminoplasty group).The demographic statistics(gender,age,body mass index,follow-up time),imaging indexes such as C2-7 Cobb angle,C2-7 range of motion,flexion Cobb angle,extension Cobb angle,flexion range of motion and extension range of motion,clinical effect indexes such as Japanese Orthopaedic Association score and visual analog scale score were compared between the two groups.The evaluation index of cervical lordosis alignment change was C2-7 Cobb angle difference before and after operation(ΔCL).Cervical lordosis ratio was equal to 100%×flexion range of motion/C2-7 range of motion.Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the role of cervical lordosis ratio in predicting postoperative severe cervical lordosis loss(ΔCL≤-10°).According to the critical value of cervical lordosis ratio(68.5%),all patients were divided into low cervical lordosis ratio group and high cervical lordosis ratio group.In these two ratio groups,the cervical lordosis alignment index and clinical effect index between the two operation groups were discussed again. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Cervical lordosis alignment decreased after laminectomy and fusion and laminoplasty(P=0.039,P=0.002),and cervical lordosis alignment change in laminoplasty group(ΔCL)was greater than that of laminectomy and fusion group,and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant.(2)Based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis,cervical lordosis ratio in predicting severe cervical lordosis alignment change(ΔCL≤-10°)had good identification ability(area under the curve=0.792).(3)In low cervical lordosis ratio group,there was no significant difference in cervical lordosis alignment change(ΔCL)between laminectomy and fusion group and laminoplasty group(P=0.141).(4)In high cervical lordosis ratio group,the ΔCL of laminoplasty group was greater than that in laminectomy and fusion group(P=0.001),which had a higher probability of postoperative severe cervical lordosis alignment change(ΔCL≤-10°)(43%,29%).(5)It is indicated that cervical lordosis ratio can be used as a decision-making index for the choice of posterior surgery for multi-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy.Laminoplasty can be considered in the low cervical lordosis ratio group,while laminectomy and fusion can be considered in the high cervical lordosis ratio group.

Xiang thinking is a cognitive approach that reflects the relationships between phenomena and their underlying principles by analyzing their external manifestations through methods such as analogy， reasoning， deduction， and symbolism. This article applied xiang thinking to analyze the etiology and pathogenesis of "wind， fire， phlegm， and blood stasis" in stroke， thereby exploring its impact on the principles of syndrome differentiation and treatment of this condition. Meanwhile， the article traced the construction process of xiang thinking， and interpreted the concept of "toxin pathogen" in traditional Chinese medicine from four perspectives， state， attribute， origin， and law. Furthermore， the relationship between the process of constructing xiang thinking and the origin of etiology， identification methods， pathogenesis evolution， and treatment strategies for stroke with syndrome of combined blood stasis and toxin was explored， so as to provide insights into research on the etiology and pathogenesis of stroke， as well as clinical diagnosis and treatment approaches.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of plasma exchange (PE) in thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis (MG), thereby to provide theoretical support for its application in the treatment of thymoma-associated MG. Methods: A total of 133 patients with thymoma-associated MG admitted from January 2018 to September 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were matched using propensity score to reduce selection bias, yielding 22 matched pairs for both PE group (n=22) and non-PE group (n=22). Patient characteristics including gender, age of disease onset, course of disease, history of thymoma resection, clinical absolute scores [clinical absolute scores (CAS) and clinical relative scores (CRS)], and synchronized immunotherapy regimen of the two groups were analyzed. The CAS scores before and after treatment were compared between the two groups, and the CRS was used to assess the treatment efficiency. Safety of the two treatment regimens were also compared. Continuous variables were compared using the t-test or ANOVA, while categorical data were compared by the chi-square test. Results: A total of 133 patients were included and divided into two groups according to whether they underwent plasma exchange treatment: the PE group (n=22) and the non-PE group (n=111). To exclude bias caused by large difference in the number of cases between the two groups, we performed propensity score matching. After matching, the number of cases in both groups was 22. There was no significant difference in baseline clinical characteristics between the two groups (P>0.05), including gender, age of onset, duration of disease course, history of thymectomy and baseline CAS score before treatment. Compared to the non-PE group, patients in the PE group showed more significant improvement in CAS score (5.09±1.95 vs 3.59±1.50, P<0.05) and a higher CRS score (75.00% vs 50.00%, P<0.001). Compared to the non-PE group, PE group had significantly longer ICU stay, longer hospital stay and higher hospitalization cost (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in adverse events between the two groups during treatment (P>0.05). During long-term follow-up, both the PE and non-PE groups showed relatively low 1-, 3-, and 5-year recurrence rate, with no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study indicates that plasma exchange has clear value in the treatment of patients with thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis. It can not only significantly improve patients' muscle strength to alleviate motor dysfunction and enhance quality of life, but also does not significantly increase the incidence of adverse reactions. Therefore, it can be regarded as one of the preferred treatment options that achieve a "balance between efficacy and safety" for such patients, and provides an important basis for optimizing treatment strategies, improving prognosis, and promoting the application of subsequent treatment regimens.

This study aims to explore the role and mechanism of CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) in cisplatin-induced skeletal muscle atrophy. Wild-type mice were divided into two groups: cisplatin group and control group (treated by normal saline). The results showed that, compared to the control group, the expression levels of CXCR3 mRNA and protein were significantly up-regulated in the skeletal muscle of the cisplatin group, suggesting that CXCR3 may play an important role in the model of cisplatin-induced skeletal muscle atrophy. To further investigate its role and potential mechanisms, CXCR3 knockout mice and wild-type mice were treated with cisplatin to induce skeletal muscle atrophy. The results revealed that CXCR3 knockout not only failed to alleviate cisplatin-induced skeletal muscle atrophy, but also further reduced body weight, skeletal muscle mass, and muscle fiber cross-sectional area. Further analysis showed that, in the cisplatin-induced muscle atrophy model, CXCR3 knockout significantly up-regulated the expression levels of E3 ubiquitin ligases in skeletal muscle and down-regulated the expression levels of myogenic regulatory factors. To explore the molecular mechanism by which CXCR3 gene deletion exacerbated cisplatin-induced skeletal muscle atrophy, transcriptomic sequencing was performed on the atrophied skeletal muscles of wild-type and CXCR3 knockout mice. The results showed that, compared to wild-type mice, 14 genes were significantly up-regulated and 12 genes were significantly down-regulated in the skeletal muscle of CXCR3 knockout mice. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed a significant enrichment of genes related to fatty acid β-oxidation. Quantitative real-time PCR validation results were consistent with the transcriptomic sequencing results. These findings suggest that CXCR3 may counteract cisplatin-induced skeletal muscle atrophy by up-regulating E3 ubiquitin ligases, down-regulating myogenic regulatory factors, and enhancing the recruitment of fatty acid β-oxidation-related genes.
Animals ; Cisplatin/adverse effects* ; Muscular Atrophy/physiopathology* ; Mice ; Receptors, CXCR3/metabolism* ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolism* ; Mice, Knockout ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Fatty Acids/metabolism* ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder mainly related to mitochondrial dysfunction of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain substantia nigra. This study aimed to investigate the effects of exercise preconditioning on motor deficits and mitochondrial function in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD mouse model. Eight-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups: sedentary + saline (SS), sedentary + MPTP (SM), exercise + saline (ES), and exercise + MPTP (EM) groups. Mice in the ES and EM groups received 4 weeks of treadmill training, and then SM and EM groups were treated with MPTP for 5 days. Motor function was assessed by behavioral tests, and morphological and functional changes in dopaminergic neurons and mitochondria in the substantia nigra of the midbrain were evaluated using immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and transmission electron microscopy technology. The results showed that, compared with the SM group, the EM group exhibited significantly improved motor ability, up-regulated protein expression levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine transporter (DAT) in the midbrain, and down-regulated protein expression of α-synuclein (α-Syn) in the mitochondria of substantia nigra. Compared with the SM group, the EM group showed up-regulated protein expression levels of mitochondrial fusion proteins, including optical atrophy protein 1 (OPA1) and mitofusin 2 (MFN2), and biogenesis-related proteins, including peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), while the protein expression levels of dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) and mitochondrial fission protein 1 (FIS1) were significantly down-regulated. Compared with the SM group, the EM group showed significantly reduced damage to substantia nigra mitochondria, restored mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production, and decreased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These results suggest that 4-week treadmill pre-training can alleviate MPTP-induced motor impairments in PD mice by improving mitochondrial function, providing a theoretical basis for early exercise-based prevention of PD.
Animals ; Male ; Physical Conditioning, Animal/physiology* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mitochondria/physiology* ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; MPTP Poisoning/physiopathology* ; Substantia Nigra ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha ; 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine

Network pharmacology and molecular docking were employed to predict the mechanism of Zhizhu Decoction in regulating macrophage polarization to reduce adipose tissue inflammation in obese children, and animal experiments were then carried out to validate the prediction results. The active ingredients and targets of Zhizhu Decoction were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP). The inflammation related targets in the adipose tissue of obese children were searched against GeneCards, OMIM, and DisGeNET, and a drug-disease-target network was established. STRING was used to construct a protein-protein interaction(PPI) network and screen for core targets. R language was used to carry out Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. AutoDock was used for the molecular docking between core targets and active ingredients. 24 SPF grade 6-week C57B/6J male mice were adaptively fed for 1 week, and 8 mice were randomly selected as the blank group. The remaining 16 mice were fed with high-fat diet for 8 weeks to onstruct a high-fat diet induced mouse obesity model. After successful modeling, the 16 mice were randomly divided into model group and Zhizhu Decoction group, with 8 mice in each group. Zhizhu Decoction group was intervened by gavage for 14 days, once a day. Blank group and model group were given an equal amount of sterile double distilled water(ddH_2O) by gavage daily. After the last gavage, serum and inguinal adipose tissue were collected from mice for testing. The morphology of inguinal adipose tissue was observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, the levels of inflammatory factors interleukin-6(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA), and the protein expression of macrophage marker molecule nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) and epidermal growth factor like hormone receptor 1(F4/80) was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Network pharmacology predicted luteolin, naringenin, and nobiletin as the main active ingredients in Zhizhu Decoction and 15 core targets. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed involvement in the key signaling pathway of nuclear factor κB(NF-κB). Molecular docking showed that the active ingredients of Zhizhu Decoction bound well to the core targets. Animal experiment showed that compared with the model group, Zhizhu Decoction reduced the distribution of inflammatory cytokines in the inguinal adipose tissue of mice, lowered the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the serum(P<0.05, P<0.01), and down-regulated the expression of iNOS and F4/80(P<0.05). The results showed that the active ingredients in Zhizhu Decoction, such as luteolin, naringenin, and nobiletin, inhibit the aggregation of macrophages in adipose tissue, downregulate their classic activated macrophage(M1) polarization, reduce the expression of inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α, and thus improve adipose tissue inflammation in obese mice.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Adipose Tissue/immunology* ; Mice ; Male ; Humans ; Network Pharmacology ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Child ; Protein Interaction Maps/drug effects* ; Obesity/genetics* ; Inflammation/drug therapy*

Eucommiae Cortex, the dried bark of Eucommia ulmoides( Eucommiaceae), has both medicinal and edible values.Modern research has shown that Eucommiae Cortex contains various components such as flavonoids, lignans, iridoids, phenolic acids,terpenoids, and steroids, which have anti-osteoporosis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, blood glucose-lowering, and gastrointestinal tract-protecting effects. Eucommiae Cortex has applications in multiple fields such as healthcare, industry, and animal husbandry,demonstrating broad development prospects. This article reviews the chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, and quality control status of Eucommiae Cortex. Furthermore, according to the concept of quality marker(Q-marker), this article predicts the Q-markers of Eucommiae Cortex from traditional medicinal properties, traditional medicinal effects, new medicinal effects, measurability of chemical components, compatibility, harvesting periods, and geographical origins. The components such as pinoresinol diglucoside,chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, quercetin, baicalein, baicalin, olivil, coniferyl ferulate, and kaempferol can be used as Q-markers for Eucommiae Cortex, which provide reference for establishing a systematic quality control system for Eucommiae Cortex.
Eucommiaceae/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Quality Control ; Humans ; Animals

A serum metabolomics analysis method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) was used to investigate the metabolic regulation mechanism of Hericium erinaceus(H. erinaceus) polysaccharides on radiation injury. A mouse model of radiation injury was established by ~(60)Co-γ irradiation. High and low dose groups of H. erinaceus polysaccharide injection were designed, and Rubiae Radix et Rhizoma extract was set as the positive control group to investigate the therapeutic effects and metabolic reaction pathways of H. erinaceus polysaccharides on radiation injury. The metabolites of serum samples were collected by GC-MS, and principal component analysis(PCA) was conducted to establish the metabolic profiles of each group of mice. Partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA), t-test(P<0.05), and variable importance in the projection(VIP>1) were used to screen out the differential metabolite. Metabolite identification and construction of related metabolic pathways and metabolic networks were achieved by using online databases such as HMDB and METLIN. The results showed that 12 differential metabolites in the serum of mice irradiated at 6.5 Gy that were associated with the radiation injury model, including lactic acid, alanine, urea, serine, threonine, glycerol, L-5-oxoproline, L-lysine, stearic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and 1-monopalmitoylglucoside. Two metabolic pathways were enriched: glycerolipid metabolism and metabolism of glycine, serine, and threonine. 18 differential metabolites in the serum of mice irradiated at 8.5 Gy were associated with the radiation injury model, including lactic acid, alanine, urea, L-leucine, glycerol, nonanoic acid, serine, threonine, L-5-oxoproline, phenylalanine, L-ornithine, 1,5-dehydroorbital, L-lysine, L-tyrosine, pectic, oleic, stearic, and cholesterol. Four metabolic pathways were enriched: phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan synthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, glyceride metabolism, and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism. It was suggested that H. erinaceus polysaccharides could intervene in radiation injury by altering amino acid and fatty acid synthesis in mice. It was assumed that H. erinaceus polysaccharides regulated the level of metabolic pathways through lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism, thus affecting energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism and exerting its therapeutic effect on radiation damage.
Animals ; Mice ; Metabolomics/methods* ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Polysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Male ; Hericium/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Metabolome/drug effects* ; Gamma Rays/adverse effects*