Recently, male reproductive health has attracted extensive attention, with the adverse effects of circadian disruption on male fertility gradually gaining recognition. However, the mechanism by which circadian disruption leads to damage to male reproductive system remains unclear. In this review, we first summarized the dual regulatory roles of circadian clock genes on the male reproductive system: (1) circadian regulation of testosterone synthesis via the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular (HPT) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes; (2) non-circadian regulation of spermatogenesis. Next, we further listed the possible mechanisms by which circadian disruption impairs male fertility, including interference with the oscillatory function of the reproductive system, i.e., synchronization of the HPT axis, crosstalk between the HPT axis and the HPA axis, as well as direct damage to germ cells by disturbing the non-oscillatory function of the reproductive system. Future research using spatiotemporal omics, epigenomic assays, and neural circuit mapping in studying the male reproductive system may provide new clues to systematically unravel the mechanisms by which circadian disruption affects male reproductive system through circadian clock genes.
Male ; Humans ; Animals ; Circadian Clocks/physiology* ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiology* ; Circadian Rhythm/genetics* ; Spermatogenesis/physiology* ; Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiology* ; Testis/physiology* ; Testosterone/biosynthesis* ; CLOCK Proteins ; Infertility, Male/physiopathology*

The chemical constituents of the petroleum ether extract derived from the 90% ethanol extract of Elephantopus scaber were investigated. By silica gel column chromatography, C_(18), MCI column chromatography and semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography, ten compounds were isolated. Their structures were identified as 3β-hydroxy-6β,7β-epoxytaraxeran-14-ene(1), 3β-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid(2), D-friedoolean-14-ene-3β,7α-diol(3), 3β-hydroxy-11α-methoxyolean-12-ene(4), 3β-hydroxyolean-11,13(18)-diene(5), 11α-hydroxy-β-amyrin(6), betulinic acid(7), 3β-hydroxy-30-norlupan-20-one(8), 6-acetonylchelerythrine(9), and 4',5'-dehydrodiodictyonema A(10) by analysis of the 1D NMR, 2D NMR, MS, and IR spectral data. Among them, compound 1 was a new triterpene and other compounds except compounds 2 and 7 were isolated from this plant for the first time.
Triterpenes/isolation & purification* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Molecular Structure ; Asteraceae/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of acupuncture therapy on dysphagia in patients with Parkinson's disease. METHODS: This randomized controlled study lasted 42 days and included 112 patients with Parkinson's disease and dysphagia. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (56 cases each group) using the completely randomized design, all under routine treatment. The experimental group was given acupuncture therapy. The primary outcome was Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS). The secondary outcomes were (1) Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA), and (2) nutritional status including body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, prealbumin, and hemoglobin. Adverse events were recorded as safety indicators. RESULTS: One participant quitted the study midway. There were no significant differences in baseline assessment (P>0.05). After treatment, both groups showed significant improvement in PAS, SSA and nutritional status except for BMI of the control group. There were significant differences between the two groups in the PAS for both paste and liquid, SSA (25.18±8.25 vs. 20.84±6.92), BMI (19.97±3.34 kg/m²vs. 21.26 ±2.38 kg/m²), serum albumin (35.16 ±5.29 g/L vs. 37.24 ±3.98 g/L), prealbumin (248.33 ±27.72 mg/L vs. 261.39 ±22.10 mg/L), hemoglobin (119.09±12.53 g/L vs. 126.67±13.97 g/L) (P<0.05). There were no severe adverse events during the study. CONCLUSION: The combination of routine treatment and acupuncture therapy can better improve dysphagia and nutritional status in patients with Parkinson's disease, than routine treatment solely. (registration No. CLINICALTRIAL gov NCT06199323).
Humans ; Parkinson Disease/therapy* ; Deglutition Disorders/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Therapy/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Nutritional Status ; Body Mass Index

Cemental tear is a rare and indetectable condition unless obvious clinical signs present with the involvement of surrounding periodontal and periapical tissues. Due to its clinical manifestations similar to common dental issues, such as vertical root fracture, primary endodontic diseases, and periodontal diseases, as well as the low awareness of cemental tear for clinicians, misdiagnosis often occurs. The critical principle for cemental tear treatment is to remove torn fragments, and overlooking fragments leads to futile therapy, which could deteriorate the conditions of the affected teeth. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and subsequent appropriate interventions are vital for managing cemental tear. Novel diagnostic tools, including cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), microscopes, and enamel matrix derivatives, have improved early detection and management, enhancing tooth retention. The implementation of standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols, combined with improved clinical awareness among dental professionals, serves to mitigate risks of diagnostic errors and suboptimal therapeutic interventions. This expert consensus reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, potential predisposing factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cemental tear, aiming to provide a clinical guideline and facilitate clinicians to have a better understanding of cemental tear.
Humans ; Dental Cementum/injuries* ; Consensus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Tooth Fractures/therapy*

Objective: To explore the mechanism by which icariin alleviates viral myocarditis. Methods: CVB3-induced cardiomyocytes were used as an in vitro model of viral myocarditis to assess the effects of icariin treatment on cell viability, inflammation, and apoptosis. Moreover, the effects of icariin on ferroptosis and TLR4 signaling were assessed. After AC16 cells were transfected with TLR4 overexpression plasmids, the role of TLR4 in mediating the regulatory effect of icariin in viral myocarditis was investigated. Results: Icariin significantly elevated cell viability and reduced inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18. Flow cytometry revealed that icariin decreased apoptosis rate, and the protein expression of Bax and cleaved caspase 3 and 9 in CVB3-induced cardiomyocytes. Additionally, it suppressed ferroptosis including lipid peroxidation and ferrous ion, as well as the TLR4 signaling. However, TLR4 overexpression abrogated the modulatory effects of icariin. Conclusions: Icariin mitigates CVB3-induced myocardial injury by inhibiting TLR4-mediated ferroptosis. Further animal study is needed to verify its efficacy.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Nowadays potential preclinical drugs for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have failed to achieve expected therapeutic efficacy because the pathogenic mechanisms are underestimated. Inactive rhomboid protein 2 (IRHOM2), a promising target for treatment of inflammation-related diseases, contributes to deregulated hepatocyte metabolism-associated nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progression. However, the molecular mechanism underlying Irhom2 regulation is still not completely understood. In this work, we identify the ubiquitin-specific protease 13 (USP13) as a critical and novel endogenous blocker of IRHOM2, and we also indicate that USP13 is an IRHOM2-interacting protein that catalyzes deubiquitination of Irhom2 in hepatocytes. Hepatocyte-specific loss of the Usp13 disrupts liver metabolic homeostasis, followed by glycometabolic disorder, lipid deposition, increased inflammation, and markedly promotes NASH development. Conversely, transgenic mice with Usp13 overexpression, lentivirus (LV)- or adeno-associated virus (AAV)-driven Usp13 gene therapeutics mitigates NASH in 3 models of rodent. Mechanistically, in response to metabolic stresses, USP13 directly interacts with IRHOM2 and removes its K63-linked ubiquitination induced by ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2N (UBC13), a ubiquitin E2 conjugating enzyme, and thus prevents its activation of downstream cascade pathway. USP13 is a potential treatment target for NASH therapy by targeting the Irhom2 signaling pathway.

Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features and treatment outcomes of the value of response-adapted treatment following radiotherapy and induction chemotherapy follwing subsequent comprehensive therapy in patients with resectable locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods:This cohort study was conducted from September 2010 to September 2020 in our hospital, 231 patients pathologically confirmed stage Ⅲ and ⅣB resectable locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma included. For the IC-directed ART strategy, IC is used to select good candidates to receive radical RT or CCRT, and others undergo surgery. He response-adapted strategy was determined based on the primary tumor response, which was evaluated at a dose of 50 Gy. If the response reached complete response or partial response（more than 80% tumor regression）, patients received radical RT or CCRT; otherwise, they received surgery, if possible, at 4 to 6 weeks after RT. The end points of the study were OS（overall survival）, progression free survival（PFS）, locoregional recurrence-free survival（LRRFS） and LDFS. Results:In IC-directed group, 75.0%（57/76） patients reached PR after 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy. While in RT-directed group, 70.3%（109/155） patients reached large PR at dose of 50 Gy. The median interquartile range follow-up period of the whole cohort was 63.8 months. The 5-year OS, PFS, LRRFS and SFL of the whole cohort were 47.9%、39.6%、44.3% and 36.2%, respectively. In evaluations based on the different treatment strategies, the 5-year OS and SFL were 51.3% versus 37.0%（HR 0.67; 95%CI 0.43-1.05; P=0.07） and 27.8% versus 39.8%（HR 0.68; 95%CI 0.46-0.99; P=0.04） between IC-directed and RT-directed groups. In additional, surgery complications did not significantly differ between these two groups. Conclusion:In this cohort study, the response-adapted strategy based on an early RT response facilitated better treatment tailoring, and higher laryngeal preservation compared with IC-directed strategies. This approach could provide a feasible laryngeal preservation strategy in patients with resectable locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma.
Male ; Humans ; Cohort Studies ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Carcinoma ; Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms/therapy* ; Induction Chemotherapy

Pulmonary blast injury has become the main type of trauma in modern warfare, characterized by externally mild injuries but internally severe injuries, rapid disease progression, and a high rate of early death. The injury is complicated in clinical practice, often with multiple and compound injuries. Currently, there is a lack of effective protective materials, accurate injury detection instrument and portable monitoring and transportation equipment, standardized clinical treatment guidelines in various medical centers, and evidence-based guidelines at home and abroad, resulting in a high mortality in clinlcal practice. Therefore, the Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association and the Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized military and civilian experts in related fields such as thoracic surgery and traumatic surgery to jointly develop the Clinical treatment guideline for pulmonary blast injury ( version 2023) by combining evidence for effectiveness and clinical first-line treatment experience. This guideline provided 16 recommended opinions surrounding definition, characteristics, pre-hospital diagnosis and treatment, and in-hospital treatment of pulmonary blast injury, hoping to provide a basis for the clinical treatment in hospitals at different levels.

Abstract: Viral shedding of SARS-CoV-2 is a continuous dynamic process, which can be divided into latent stage, initial stage, peak stage and decreasing stage according to the characteristics of viral shedding. After being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the infected person generally stays in the latent period for 1-3 days, which is characterized by continuous negative nucleic acid test results and no infectiousness, and the risk of infection for close contacts is very low. At the initial stage of viral shedding is characterized by a rapid decline in the Ct value of nucleic acid tests in a short time, and clinical symptoms gradually appear. The infectiousness of the infected person gradually increases during this period, and the risk of infection for close contacts also gradually increases, but it is still in the early stage of infection, the possibility of viral shedding is low, and the risk of infection of secondary close contacts is low. The peak of viral shedding is characterized by low Ct value in nucleic acid test and obvious clinical symptoms; during this period, the infected person is the most infectious, and the risk of infection of the contact is the highest, so the scope of close contacts should be expanded appropriately. The decreasing period is characterized by the gradual increase of Ct value of nucleic acid test and the gradual disappearance of clinical symptoms; during this period, the infectiousness of the infected person gradually decreases to disappear. In an outbreak, an infected person in the decreasing phase is more likely to be an early infected person in the transmission chain. If infected individuals in the decreasing phase are found in an area without a SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, it suggests that the local outbreak epidemic has been spreading for some time and may be larger in scale. According to the characteristics of viral shedding, risk personnel can be determined more scientifically and accurately, so as to minimize the risk and reduce the waste of epidemic prevention resources.