OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of Chinese patent medicine Huatuo Zaizao Pill (HTZZ) on neurological function and limb motor in ischemic stroke (IS) patients during convalescence. METHODS: This is a prospective, open-labelled, randomized controlled trial. Patients with IS were recruited from the Neurology Department of Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from May 2021 to June 2023. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to the HTZZ (40 cases) or control group (40 cases) at a ratio of 1:1. The HTZZ group was treated with oral HTZZ (8 g, thrice daily) combined with conventional treatment, while the control group received only conventional treatment. The treatment duration was 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the change in Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) score from baseline to week 6 and 12. Secondary outcomes included changes in scores of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FM), and Barthel Index (BI) from baseline to week 6 and 12, as well as lipid indices after 12 weeks. All adverse events (AEs) were recorded and liver and kidney indices were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 72 patients completed the study (38 in the HTZZ group and 34 in the control group). Compared with the control group, the HTZZ group demonstrated significant improvements in MAS, NIHSS, FM, and BI scores following 6 and 12 weeks of treatment in both intent-to-treat and per-protocol analyses (all P<0.05). No significant differences were noted between groups in lipid indices, AEs, and liver and kidney dysfunction after 12 weeks (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS HTZZ alleviated spasticity and enhanced neurological function and prognosis of IS patients during convalescence. However, further evaluation of HTZZ's effect on IS outcomes is warranted in clinical trials with larger sample sizes and extended observation periods. (Trial registration No. NCT04910256).
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Male ; Female ; Ischemic Stroke/physiopathology* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Recovery of Function/drug effects* ; Convalescence ; Extremities/physiopathology* ; Treatment Outcome ; Prospective Studies

In patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD),the incidence of cardiovascular events and the mortality rate are significantly higher than those in the general population.Approximately 85% of end-stage CKD patients develop hyperhomocysteinemia(HHcy)due to impaired renal function.It is not yet fully determined whether HHcy merely acts as a biomarker of CKD or plays a role in the pathogenesis.Although supplementation with folic acid and other B vitamins(B6 and B12)has been proven to lower the plasma level of total homocysteine,their effectiveness in slowing CKD progression or reducing cardiovascular complications remains uncertain.This article reviews the latest research progress in the relationship between HHcy and CKD,aiming to give new insights into the prevention and treatment of CKD and its complications.
Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia/complications* ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/complications*

An online sample decomposition and detection method for high-throughput determination of Se content in organic samples was established based on oxygen combustion combined with hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry.The sole product of Se in oxygen combustion,SeO2,was quantitatively captured on the walls of the combustion flask in an open system.It was then eluted online and reacted in situ with 10％(V/V)HC1 carrier solution and 2％(m/V)NaBH4 reductant solution within the combustion flask.After optimization,for a maximum sample processing amount of 0.2 g,the sample analysis throughput was 20 sample/h.The detection limit(LOD,3SD)for Se reached 0.012 mg/kg,and the relative standard deviations for parallel determinations(RSDs,n=6)was 1.7％.The analytical results of certified reference materials,scallop(GBW10024)and chicken(GBW10018),were consistent with the certified values,and the analytical results of real samples were in good agreement with those obtained by traditional wet digestion.

Objective To investigate the attributable risk(AR)of Acinetobacter baumannii(AB)infection in criti-cally ill patients.Methods A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted among adult patients in inten-sive care unit(ICU).Patients with AB isolated from sterile body fluid and confirmed with AB infection in each cen-ter were selected as the infected group.According to the matching criteria that patients should be from the same pe-riod,in the same ICU,as well as with similar APACHE Ⅱ score(±5 points)and primary diagnosis,patients who did not infect with AB were selected as the non-infected group in a 1:2 ratio.The AR was calculated.Results The in-hospital mortality of patients with AB infection in sterile body fluid was 33.3％,and that of non-infected group was 23.1％,with no statistically significant difference between the two groups(P=0.069).The AR was 10.2％(95％CI:-2.3％-22.8％).There is no statistically significant difference in mortality between non-infected pa-tients and infected patients from whose blood,cerebrospinal fluid and other specimen sources AB were isolated(P＞0.05).After infected with AB,critically ill patients with the major diagnosis of pulmonary infection had the high-est AR.There was no statistically significant difference in mortality between patients in the infected and non-infec-ted groups(P＞0.05),or between other diagnostic classifications.Conclusion The prognosis of AB infection in critically ill patients is highly overestimated,but active healthcare-associated infection control for AB in the ICU should still be carried out.

Objective To clarify the high-touch surface in oral diagnosis and treatment procedures,provide basis and guidance for cleaning and disinfection.Methods The direct observation method was used to investigate the tou-ch time and frequency of environmental surfaces in 7 outpatient departments of a tertiary stomatology hospitals in Beijing.The average touch frequency,95％confidence interval and cumulative touch rate were calculated.Results In oral diagnosis and treatment procedures,the average touch frequency of the environmental surface was 26.75 times per procedure,with the highest in endodontics(46.25 times per procedure)and the lowest in the oral mucosal specialty(10.19 times per procedure).The high-touch surface consisted of the shadowless lamp handle,manipula-tion panel and handle on dental unit(doctor's side),computer keyboard and mouse,handle and line front end of three way syringe,as well as dental high speed handpiece and line front end,with average touch frequencies of 3.99,3.85,2.65,1.86,and 1.40 times per procedure.The high-touch surface in all stomatology specialties in-cluded the manipulation panel and handle on dental unit(doctor's side),75％of specialties included computer key-board and mouse,and the shadowless lamp handle has the highest touch frequency in 50％of specialties.The ave-rage touch frequency of the environmental surface was highest(113.50 times per procedure)during crown prepara-tion procedure,and the lowest(8.50 times per procedure)during the orthodontic consultations.Conclusion The high-touch surface of different dental specialties and different diagnosis and treatment procedures are different.Me-dical institutions should take corresponding cleaning,disinfection and management measures according to the actual situation of high-touch surface in stomatology departments,so as to effectively improve the quality of environmental cleaning and disinfection.

Objective To analyze the antigen recognition sites of commercial and homemade antibodies against aquaporin(AQP)9,and to identify the application effect.Methods Western blotting was used to compare the efficacy of three commercial antibodies and self-made antibody in identifying AQP9 genotypes.The antigen recognition sites of four antibodies and their specificities in practical applications were analyzed.Results Western blotting showed that protein bands of three commercial antibodies were detected in both WT and Aqp9-/-mice.The keyhole limpet hemocyanin(KLH)conjugated synthetic peptides corresponding to the three commercial antibodies were derived from rat,human and human,respectively.And The sequences of these three synthetic peptides were different from those of mice.AQP3/7 and AQP9 have similar molecular weight and were expressed in the liver with high homology.An obvious band of self-made antibody was observed at the 27 kD position in WT mice,but no band was observed at the corresponding position in Aqp9-/-mice.Conclusion Commercial antibodies 1 and 3 can be used to assist in the identification of genotypes in Aqp9-/-mice.Homemade antibodies can accurately identify genotypes at the protein level.

ObjectiveHuman Ku70 protein mainly involves the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSB) through its DNA-binding properties, and it is recently reported having an RNA-binding ability. This paper is to explore whether Ku70 has RNA helicase activity and affects miRNA maturation. MethodsRNAs bound to Ku protein were analyzed by RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (RIP-seq) and bioinfomatic anaylsis. The expression relationship between Ku protein and miRNAs was verified by Western blot (WB) and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. Binding ability of Ku protein to the RNAs was tested by biolayer interferometry (BLI) assay. RNA helicase activity of Ku protein was identified with EMSA assay. The effect of Ku70 regulated miR-124 on neuronal differentiation was performed by morphology analysis, WB and immunofluorescence assays with or without Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. ResultsWe revealed that the Ku70 protein had RNA helicase activity and affected miRNA maturation. Deficiency of Ku70 led to the up-regulation of a large number of mature miRNAs, especially neuronal specific miRNAs like miR-124. The knockdown of Ku70 promoted neuronal differentiation in human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and SH-SY5Y cells by boosting miR-124 maturation. Importantly, ZIKV infection reduced the expression of Ku70 whereas increased expression of miR-124 in hNPCs, and led to morphologically neuronal differentiation. ConclusionOur study revealed a novel function of Ku70 as an RNA helicase and regulating miRNA maturation. The reduced expression of Ku70 with ZIKV infection increased the expression of miR-124 and led to the premature differentiation of embryonic neural progenitor cells, which might be one of the causes of microcephaly.