The antidepressant activity and molecular mechanisms of Yueju Wan volatile oil were investigated. The Yueju Wan volatile oil was extracted by using supercritical CO_2. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) combined with network pharmacology identified 28 chemical constituents in Yueju Wan volatile oil, primarily terpenes and lactones. A total of 123 overlapping targets were associated with depression, including core targets of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3), and caspase-3(CASP3). These targets were mainly involved in the prolactin, advanced glycation end products/receptor(AGE/RAGE), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/Akt) signaling pathways. A reserpine-induced depression mouse model was established to evaluate the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Yueju Wan volatile oil. The effects of Yueju Wan volatile oil on depression-like behavior in mice were evaluated by analyzing body mass, body temperature index, tail suspension immobility time, forced swimming immobility time, and sucrose preference. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining revealed neuronal protection of Yueju Wan volatile oil in the brain of mice. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) and Western blot were employed to detect the protein expression of AGEs, IL-1β, phosphorylated PI3K(p-PI3K), Akt, phosphorylated Akt(p-Akt), nuclear factor κB(NF-κB), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF). Behavioral evaluation showed that Yueju Wan volatile oil could effectively control the decline of body mass and body temperature of depressed mice, reduce tail suspension and swimming immobility time, and enhance their preference for sucrose. Histopathological examination showed that Yueju Wan volatile oil could alleviate the neuronal damage in CA1 and dentate gyrus(DG) of the hippocampus of mice. ELISA and Western blot results showed that Yueju Wan volatile oil could significantly increase the protein expression levels of PI3K, Akt, and BDNF and significantly decrease the protein expression levels of AGEs, IL-1β, p-PI3K, p-Akt, and NF-κB in the hippocampus of mice. Furthermore, the p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt ratios were significantly decreased at medium and high doses. These findings suggest that the aromatherapy of Yueju Wan volatile oil can significantly improve reserpine-induced depression-like behavior in mice, which may be related to reducing the expression of neuronal membrane protein AGEs, reducing the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt, inhibiting NF-κB entry into the nucleus, and alleviating the release of pro-inflammatory factors and nerve injury.
Animals ; Antidepressive Agents/chemistry* ; Mice ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/immunology* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/immunology* ; Oils, Volatile/chemistry* ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Depression/metabolism* ; Glycation End Products, Advanced/immunology* ; Humans

Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus is the dried bulb of perennial herbaceous plants in the Fritillaria genus(Liliaceae family) and is a representative traditional Chinese medicinal material with distinctive regional characteristics. Clinically, it is widely used in the treatment of dry cough, bronchial asthma, and other respiratory diseases, possessing significant medicinal and economic value and being highly esteemed in TCM. Currently, Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus primarily relies on wild harvesting. However, due to excessive collection, its wild resources have drastically declined, and all source species have been classified as category Ⅱ in the List of National Key Protected Wild Plants, exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance in the market. To mitigate this issue, large-scale cultivation through the domestication of wild Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus has become an inevitable trend. However, its strict environmental requirements, low propagation efficiency, high seedling mortality, and immature cultivation techniques have severely hindered industrialization. This study investigates the domestication process of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, focusing on seed propagation, seedling cultivation, and medicinal material production. It also reviews the species and distribution of wild resources, their endangered status, market supply-demand dynamics, and the historical and current development of domestication. The findings indicate that enhancing propagation efficiency, optimizing cultivation models, and distinguishing between seed propagation and medicinal material production are key measures to accelerate the industrialization of domesticated Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus. This research aims to promote the industrialization of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus domestication and provide a reference model for the conservation and sustainable utilization of rare and endangered medicinal plant resources.
Fritillaria/chemistry* ; Endangered Species ; Plants, Medicinal/growth & development* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/economics* ; China

Testicular histology based on testicular biopsy is an important factor for determining appropriate testicular sperm extraction surgery and predicting sperm retrieval outcomes in patients with azoospermia. Therefore, we developed a deep learning (DL) model to establish the associations between testicular grayscale ultrasound images and testicular histology. We retrospectively included two-dimensional testicular grayscale ultrasound from patients with azoospermia (353 men with 4357 images between July 2017 and December 2021 in The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China) to develop a DL model. We obtained testicular histology during conventional testicular sperm extraction. Our DL model was trained based on ultrasound images or fusion data (ultrasound images fused with the corresponding testicular volume) to distinguish spermatozoa presence in pathology (SPP) and spermatozoa absence in pathology (SAP) and to classify maturation arrest (MA) and Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) in patients with SAP. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were used to analyze model performance. DL based on images achieved an AUC of 0.922 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.908-0.935), a sensitivity of 80.9%, a specificity of 84.6%, and an accuracy of 83.5% in predicting SPP (including normal spermatogenesis and hypospermatogenesis) and SAP (including MA and SCOS). In the identification of SCOS and MA, DL on fusion data yielded better diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.979 (95% CI: 0.969-0.989), a sensitivity of 89.7%, a specificity of 97.1%, and an accuracy of 92.1%. Our study provides a noninvasive method to predict testicular histology for patients with azoospermia, which would avoid unnecessary testicular biopsy.
Humans ; Male ; Azoospermia/diagnostic imaging* ; Deep Learning ; Testis/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Ultrasonography/methods* ; Sperm Retrieval ; Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome/diagnostic imaging*

OBJECTIVES: To study the epidemiological characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in hospitalized children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Hebei Province. METHODS: Hospitalized children with CAP who tested positive for RSV and were admitted to Hebei Children's Hospital from various cities and counties across Hebei Province between January 2019 and December 2023 were included in the study. Clinical data were collected and analyzed to assess epidemiological characteristics. RESULTS: The clinical data of 43 978 children with CAP were collected, with an overall RSV detection rate of 25.98%. The detection rate was higher during the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) (30.60%) than in the non-NPIs period. Winter and spring were the primary epidemic seasons for RSV each year except in 2022. The detection rate in males (26.62%) was higher than in females (25.06%) (P<0.001). The highest detection rate (59.18%) was found in infants aged 29 days to <1 year. Single RSV infection was more common, with rhinovirus being the most frequent co-infection. CONCLUSIONS The overall RSV detection rate in Hebei Province is influenced by NPIs, being higher during their implementation. RSV predominantly circulates in winter and spring. The detection rate of RSV is higher in males and infants. RSV infection is primarily single, most often co-occurring with rhinovirus.
Humans ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/epidemiology* ; Female ; Male ; Infant ; Child, Preschool ; Seasons ; China/epidemiology* ; Infant, Newborn ; Community-Acquired Infections/epidemiology* ; Child

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical significance of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in response evaluation and relapse monitoring for patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). METHODS: The clinical characteristics, efficacy and survival of 38 PMBCL patients in our hospital from January 2010 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The ctDNA monitoring was conducted by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Among the 38 patients, 26 cases were female, and 32 cases were diagnosed with Ann Arbor stage I-II. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were 74.7% and 61.7%, respectively. Males and those with high aaIPI scores (3 points) had a relatively poor prognosis. The NGS results of 23 patients showed that STAT6 (65.2%), SOCS1 (56.5%), and TNFAIP3 (56.5%) were the most common mutated genes. Patients with stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) exhibited enrichment in cell cycle, FoxO, and TNF signaling pathways. A total of 29 patients underwent end-of-treatment PET/CT (EOT PET/CT), and 16 of them received ctDNA monitoring with 12 negative. Among 6 patients with EOT PET/CT positive (Deauville 4), 4 underwent ctDNA monitoring, and 3 of them were negative, being still in continuous remission without any subsequent anti-tumor therapy. CONCLUSION CtDNA may be combined with PET/CT to assess efficacy, monitor relapse, and guide treatment of PMBCL.
Humans ; Circulating Tumor DNA/blood* ; Female ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Prognosis ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Mutation

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence showed that ambient air pollution and cardiovascular mortality are related. However, there is a lack of evidence towards the modification effect of long-term lifestyle on the association between short-term ambient air pollution and death from cardiovascular events. METHOD: A total of 14,609 death from major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were identified among the China Kadoorie Biobank participants from 2013 to 2018. Ambient air pollution exposure including particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5), SO₂, NO₂, CO, and O₃ from the same period were obtained from space-time model reconstructions based on remote sensing data. Case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression was applied to estimate the effect of short-term exposure to air pollutants on MACE mortality. RESULTS: We found MACE mortality was significantly associated with PM_2.5 (relative percent increase 2.91% per 10 µg/m³ increase, 95% CI 1.32-4.53), NO₂ (5.37% per 10 µg/m³ increase, 95% CI 1.56-9.33), SO₂ (6.82% per 10 µg/m³ increase, 95% CI 2.99-10.80), and CO (2.24% per 0.1 mg/m³ increase, 95% CI 1.02-3.48). Stratified analyses indicated that drinking was associated with elevated risk of MACE mortality with NO₂ and SO₂ exposure; physical inactivity was associated with higher risk of death from MACE when exposed to PM_2.5; and people who had balanced diet had lower risk of MACE mortality when exposed to CO and NO₂. CONCLUSIONS The study results showed that short-term exposure to ambient PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, and CO would aggravate the risk of cardiovascular mortality, yet healthy lifestyle conduct might mitigate such negative impact to some extent.
Humans ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Middle Aged ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects* ; Life Style ; Aged ; Adult ; Risk Factors ; Cross-Over Studies ; East Asian People

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.08.005.].

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a globally life-threatening disease. Presently, few therapeutic medicines are available for treating IS, and rt-PA is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. In fact, many agents showing excellent neuroprotection but no blood flow-improving activity in animals have not achieved ideal clinical efficacy, while thrombolytic drugs only improving blood flow without neuroprotection have limited their wider application. To address these challenges and meet the huge unmet clinical need, we have designed and identified a novel compound AAPB with dual effects of neuroprotection and cerebral blood flow improvement. AAPB significantly reduced cerebral infarction and neural function deficit in tMCAO rats, pMCAO rats, and IS rhesus monkeys, as well as displayed exceptional safety profiles and excellent pharmacokinetic properties in rats and dogs. AAPB has now entered phase I of clinical trials fighting IS in China.

This study was aimed at determining the genetic characteristics of Yersinia pestis in Subei County through differ-ential region(DFR),clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR),and variable number tandem repeat(VNTR)analyses,to guide the tracing of plague outbreaks.The DNA of 89 Yersinia pestis strains isolated from various ani-mal in foci of Subei County from 1973 to 2017 was extracted.Primers for genotyping by DFR,CRISPR,and MLVA were used in PCR,and agarose electrophoresis was used to determine whether the amplified products were present.Genotypes were deter-mined through comparison against the DFR database of Yersinia pestis in China.The PCR products were sequenced and com-pared against the online CRISPR database for Yersinia pestis to determine the genotype.The number of VNTR repeats in each strain was calculated through capillary electrophoresis,and the minimum spanning tree was constructed with BioNumerics 7.6 according to the numbers of VNTR repeats from 89 Yersinia pestis strains in Subei County and 11 strains from a Marmota hi-malayana focus in Qinghai Province.The Yersinia pestis strains in Subei County were divided into six main genotypes by DFR:8,7,lb,5,32,and 44.The Yersinia pestis strains were divided into three gene clusters and three genotypes by CRISPR.Ca35'was the main gene cluster in Subei County;the genotype was 26';and the distribution was primarily in Dangchengwan Town,Yuerhong Township,and Shibaocheng Township.Ca7 and CaΔ5'comprised secondary gene clusters,with genotypes 22 and 24,and were distributed in Dangchengwan Town,Yuerhong Township,and Shibaocheng Township.The Yersinia pes-tis strains in Subei County were divided primarily into three clusters:the Dangchengwan Machang cluster,Yuerhong Township cluster and Dangchengwan Town cluster.Therefore,the Yersinia pestis strains in Subei County,divided into major and minor genotypes according to DFR,CRISPR and MLVA,showed different regional distribution characteristics,highly diverse geno-types,and complex population characteristics.These aspects are particularly important in tracing the sources of plague out-breaks.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS)combined with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy(MBCT)in patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome(AWS).Methods:The 120 patients with AWS who were observed in this study were all male patients admitted to our hospital from June 2021 to June 2024,the patients were divided into group A(conventional treatment,40 cases),group B(group A combined with rTMS,40 cases),and group C(group B combined with MBCT,40 cases)according to random number table method.The clinical efficacy,self-control ability[Modified Clinical Institution Alcohol Dependence Withdrawal Assessment Scale(CIWA-Ar)score,Visual Analog Scale of Psychological Craving for Alcohol(VAS)score and Pennsylvania Alcohol Craving Scale(PACS)score],anxiety and depression degree assessment[Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD)score,Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA)score]and quality of life[36 Short Form Health Survey(SF-36)Score],relapse rate and readmission rate were compared among the three groups.Results:The total effective rate of group A,group B and group C increased successively(P＜0.05).The CIWA-Ar,PACS and VAS scores in group B and group C after treatment were lower than those in group A,and group C was lower than that in group B(P＜0.05).The HAMD and HAMA scores of group B and group C after treatment were lower than those in group A,and group C was lower than that in group B(P＜0.05).The SF-36 score of group B and group C after treatment was higher than those in group A,and group C was higher than that in group B(P＜0.05).Relapse rate and readmission rate in groups B and C were lower than those in group A,and group C was lower than that in group B(P＜0.05).Conclusion:The application of rTMS combined with MBCT in patients with AWS can improve clinical efficacy and quality of life,alleviate anxiety and depression,improve patients' self-control ability,reduce relapse rate and readmission rate,with definite effects.