AIM: To identify the primary active components and underlying mechanisms of Yijing Decoction(YJD)in treating early diabetic retinopathy(DR)based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and network pharmacology.METHODS: Active components of YJD were characterized through LC-MS. Components with optimal ADME(absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion)properties were selected as key bioactive candidates. Network pharmacology approaches were employed to predict YJD-DR therapeutic targets. Protein-protein interaction(PPI)networks, gene ontology(GO)enrichment analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway analysis were subsequently conducted to predict core targets and networks. Critical targets and pathways were experimentally validated through Western blot.RESULTS: Ten core therapeutic targets were identified, including TNF, Alb, EGFR, STAT3, PTGS2, ESR1, PPAR, MMP9, TLR4, and MAPK. YJD was related to cancer-related signaling, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative diseases, encompassing key biological processes such as inflammatory response regulation, programmed cell death activation, and enhanced cell migration. Furthermore, Western blot analysis confirmed that YJD significantly inhibited high glucose-induced phosphorylation of STAT3(P-STAT3/STAT3)and ERK(P-ERK/ERK)in rat retinal microvascular endothelial cells.CONCLUSION: This study revealed YJD's pharmacodynamical basis and its multi-component, multi-target, and multi-paths pharmacology. YJD exerts therapeutic effects on DR by coordinately regulating critical signaling pathways and alleviating intraocular inflammation, thus preserving retinal vascular endothelial cells, maintaining blood-retinal barrier integrity, and facilitating retinal neurovascular repair.

Objective:To explore the efficacy and safety of supplementing early rehabilitation with local vibration therapy in the prevention and treatment of ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW).Methods:Ninety-six critically ill patients were randomly divided into a control group, a rehabilitation group, and a combination group, each of 32. All received routine treatment and care, but the rehabilitation group and the combination group received earlier rehabilitation and the combination group early rehabilitation + local vibration therapy. Before and after 2 weeks of the treatments, the incidence of ICU-AW was recorded, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) scoring was performed and ultrasound was used to detect the rehabilitation effect. The incidence of adverse events was also recorded.Results:The incidence of ICU-AW was significantly lower in the combination group than among the rehabilitation group, while that of the rehabilitation group was significantly lower than among the control group. The APACHE II scores showed the same progression. The thickness, cross-sectional area, muscle echo, and diaphragm thickness and activity of the rectus femoris, rectus abdominis, and biceps brachii muscles in the combination group were, on average, significantly better than among the rehabilitation group, but with the rehabilitation group′s results significantly better than among the control group. The average mechanical ventilation time and ICU stay of patients in the combination group were significantly shorter than the rehabilitation group′s averages, which in turn were significantly shorter than those of the control group. The combination group′s average Barthel Index after the experiment was significantly higher than that of the rehabilitation group, which was in turn significantly higher than the control group′s average. The incidence of adverse events in the combination group was significantly lower than in the rehabilitation group, with that of the latter significantly lower than among the control group.Conclusions:Combining local vibration therapy with early rehabilitation is beneficial for the safe prevention and treatment of ICU-AW.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic whole blood exchange combined with lymphoplasmapheresis in the treatment of refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of AIHA patients who underwent therapeutic whole blood exchange combined with lymphoplasmapheresis at our hospital from March 2022 to May 2025. Efficacy was assessed by comparing changes in hemoglobin, platelet count, and bilirubin levels before and after treatment. Safety was evaluated by analyzing vital signs before and after the procedure, parameters during the exchange, and adverse reactions. Results: A total of 12 AIHA patients were enrolled, completing 19 exchange procedures. The number of procedures per patient ranged from 1 to 3. The median treatment duration was 67 (65-73) minutes, with a median exchange volume of 2 025 (1 851-2 121) mL, comprising 4.5 (4-6) units of red blood cells and 1 350 (1 200-1 400) mL of plasma. Ten patients achieved partial remission, one achieved complete remission, and one showed no response, yielding an response rate of 91% (11/12). After a single session, hemoglobin increased significantly by 17.58±9.85 g/L (P<0.01), while platelets counts decreased by 45 (17.5, 79)×10 /L (P<0.05), and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed a significant elevation (P<0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, white blood cell count, or heart rate. During the procedures, 4 adverse reactions occurred in 3 patients: one child experienced severe heart rate fluctuation twice consecutively, and two adults developed plasma allergies. All reactions resolved spontaneously without pharmacological intervention. Conclusion: The combination of therapeutic whole blood exchange and lymphoplasmapheresis appears to be a safe and effective treatment for refractory AIHA patients.

Objective:To explore the efficacy and safety of supplementing early rehabilitation with local vibration therapy in the prevention and treatment of ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW).Methods:Ninety-six critically ill patients were randomly divided into a control group, a rehabilitation group, and a combination group, each of 32. All received routine treatment and care, but the rehabilitation group and the combination group received earlier rehabilitation and the combination group early rehabilitation + local vibration therapy. Before and after 2 weeks of the treatments, the incidence of ICU-AW was recorded, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) scoring was performed and ultrasound was used to detect the rehabilitation effect. The incidence of adverse events was also recorded.Results:The incidence of ICU-AW was significantly lower in the combination group than among the rehabilitation group, while that of the rehabilitation group was significantly lower than among the control group. The APACHE II scores showed the same progression. The thickness, cross-sectional area, muscle echo, and diaphragm thickness and activity of the rectus femoris, rectus abdominis, and biceps brachii muscles in the combination group were, on average, significantly better than among the rehabilitation group, but with the rehabilitation group′s results significantly better than among the control group. The average mechanical ventilation time and ICU stay of patients in the combination group were significantly shorter than the rehabilitation group′s averages, which in turn were significantly shorter than those of the control group. The combination group′s average Barthel Index after the experiment was significantly higher than that of the rehabilitation group, which was in turn significantly higher than the control group′s average. The incidence of adverse events in the combination group was significantly lower than in the rehabilitation group, with that of the latter significantly lower than among the control group.Conclusions:Combining local vibration therapy with early rehabilitation is beneficial for the safe prevention and treatment of ICU-AW.

Abstract: Objective　To find out the causes and risk factors of this food-borne disease outbreak that occurred in November 2019 at four schools in Qinzhou, Guangxi, implement effective preventive and control measures to curb the spread and escalation of the outbreak, and provide a basis for the investigation and management of similar incidents in the future. Methods　Descriptive epidemiological methods were used to analyze the cases' clinical characteristics, three-dimensional distribution, and related risk factors. The etiological food was determined by the method of analytical epidemiology. A food hygiene investigation was conducted to trace the process of food contamination, and biological samples from cases and workers, suspicious food, and environmental samples were collected for laboratory testing. The detected Salmonella strains were analyzed for homogeneity using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results　The event involved four schools, with 69 suspected cases identified, resulting inan attack rate of 0.52% (69/13 307). The main clinical symptoms were abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever, with an average incubation period of 20 hours.The epidemic curve indicated a point-source outbreak. Descriptive epidemiological methods inferred that bakery products distributed by Company F were the suspect foods. The case-control study indicated the risk of illness was increased among those who purchased and consumed food supplied by Company F (OR=37.67, 95%CI:14.03-101.13),particularly those who consumed the delicious hamburger (OR=30.13，95%CI:13.22-68.67). Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) was detected in 12 anal swabsfrom patients, one patient's vomit, one flour sample used for bread-making, and one egg,with homogeneity of 100% achieved in PFGE molecular typing of the 15 positive Salmonella strains. Conclusions　The outbreak is a food-borne disease outbreak caused by Salmonella contamination. It is recommended that regulatory authorities strengthen supervision and management of production and processing enterprises, standardize food processing processes, and establish and improve food safety management systems and long-term mechanisms for food safety knowledge promotion and education in schools to enhance students' hygiene awarenessand prevent similar incidents from occurring.

【Objective】 To study the changes of blood coagulation function of donors before and after peripheral blood stem cell(PBSC)mobilization and collection, so as to evaluate the safety of the current scheme. 【Methods】 30 donors who received PBSC mobilization and collection in Zhujiang Hospital from October 2018 to October 2020 were enrolled. After mobilization by G-CSF, the correlation between coagulation function, blood routine indexes and TEG indexes of donors was analyzed, and the influence of PBSC mobilization and collection on coagulation function of donors was evaluated. 【Results】 The TEG indexes R(min), K(min), α(°), MA(mm) and CI before and after PBSC collection were 6.12±1.18 vs 7.25±2.16, 1.98±0.41 vs 2.45±0.64, 62.82±4.98 vs 57.3±6.67, 60.93±3.26 vs 55.37±4.41, and -0.31±1.40 vs -2.32±2.18, respectively(P<0.05), suggesting that there was no risk of hypercoagulability after PBSC mobilization and collection. The peak values of WBC (×10⁹/L), Plt (×10⁹/L) and Hb (g/L) were 62.02, 357 and 162, respectively, which indicated that the blood routine indexes after PBSC mobilization and collection were in the safe range. After PBSC collection, the CI value of 26.7% (8/30) donors was less than -3, showing hypocoagulability. 【Conclusion】 The current mobilization and collection scheme of PBSC has little effect on the coagulation function. Most of the donors had no risk of hypercoagulability, but a few showed a trend of hypocoagulability after PBSC collection.

【Objective】 To analyze the characteristics of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) collection in healthy children, and explore the factors affecting collection efficiency (CE). 【Methods】 The PBMC data, involving 70 episodes of apheresis from 42 children during January 2017 and June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed All children were collected in Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University. 【Results】 Multiple linear regression analysis showed that mononuclear cells (MNC) in donor collections from healthy children were positively correlated with anticoagulant dosage, lymphocyte count and monocyte count (P<0.05), meanwhile, negatively correlated with age and platelet count. The PBMC CE was negatively correlated with age, platelet count, and processed whole blood volume (P<0.05). CD34⁺ cells (×10⁷ /kg)was negatively correlated with age, meanwhile, positively correlated with numbers of collection and processed whole blood volume(r=-0.79). No statistical differences in red blood cell count, platelet count, lymphocyte count, monocyte count of healthy child donors were notable before versus after apheresis. 【Conclusion】 MNC can be collected effectively in children of different ages. The PBMC collection efficiency was related to age. Meanwhile, the higher the lymphocytes and monocytes were before apheresis, the more MNC were collected. The efficiency of MNC collection would decrease when the apheresis volume of the children exceeded their total blood volume twice. However, the absolute value of CD34+ cells in the final yields would increase.

Objective:To investigate the reparative efficacy and mechanism of pressure-adjustable macroporous antibacterial hydrogel in the treatment of infected wounds.Methods:Staphylococcus aureus was used to establish wound infection models in healthy C57BL/6 mice. The models were divided into 3 groups subjected to 3 different treatments: a negative control group with no hydrogel treatment (group A), a control group treated by common medical hydrogel (group B) and an experiment group treated by pressure-adjustable macroporous antibacterial hydrogel (group C). On days 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12, the effects of 3 treatments were compared on the wound area and the number of bacterial colonies under scab, on the apoptosis of fibroblasts based on the changes of type Ⅰ procollagen, and on the inhibition of inflammation during wound repair by detecting the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α).Results:On days 1 and 3, there was no significant difference between the 3 groups in the wound area ( P>0.05), but on days 6, 9 and 12, there were significant differences between the 3 groups in the wound area ( P<0.05). On day 6, the wound areas in group B (1.23 cm 2 ± 0.16 cm 2) and in group C (1.14 cm 2 ± 0.12 cm 2) were significantly smaller than that in group A (1.56 cm 2 ± 0.16 cm 2) ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between groups B and C ( P>0.05). On days 9 and 12, the wound areas in group B (0.97 cm 2 ± 0.13 cm 2 and 0.76 cm 2 ± 0.10 cm 2) and in group C (0.66 cm 2 ± 0.06 cm 2 and 0.48 cm 2 ± 0.07 cm 2) were significantly smaller than those in group A (1.49 cm 2 ± 0.11 cm 2 and 1.39 cm 2 ± 0.13 cm 2), and those in group C were significantly smaller than those in group B (all P<0.05). On day 1, there was no significant difference between the 3 groups in the number of bacterial colonies under scab ( P>0.05). On days 3, 6, 9 and 12, the numbers of bacterial colonies under scab in groups B and C were significantly smaller than that in group A ( P<0.05), and that in group C was significantly smaller than that in group B ( P< 0.05). The nucleic acid electrophoresis showed that the grayscale bands in group C were significantly darker than those in groups A and B. The early apoptosis rate of the fibroblasts in group C[low-right positive fluorescence (LR%): 9.72%] was significantly lower than that in group A (43.99%) and that in group B (38.43%), and that in group B was significantly lower than that in group A ( P<0.05). On day 12, the ratio of the gray values of IL-6 and β-actin (0.64 ± 0.10) and the ratio of the gray values of TNF-α and β-actin (0.34 ± 0.05) in the fibroblasts in group C were significantly higher than those in group A (1.22 ± 0.21 and 0.60 ± 0.14) and in group B (0.88 ± 0.02 and 0.41 ± 0.06) ( P<0.01). Conclusion:The pressure-adjustable macroporous antibacterial hydrogel is an effective treatment of infected wounds and its mechanism may be related to the reduced apoptosis of fibroblasts.

BACKGROUND:Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty can effectively repair osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, but bone cement injection can cause the change of stress in the fractured vertebrae and adjacent vertebrae after surgery, leading to new fractures.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the stress changes of the fractured vertebrae and adjacent vertebrae after vertebroplasty with different elastic modulus bone cement by a three-dimensional finite element method.
METHODS: One healthy adult male volunteer was selected for lumbar spine CT scan. The acquired images were imported for three-dimensional reconstruction using Mimics. The three-dimensional model was smoothed, polished and denoised by Geomagic software, and then the solid mode was built under Workbench Ansys. An osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture model in L2-4 segments was established after assignment. Bone cement (4 mL) with different elastic moduli (8 000, 4 000, 2 000 and 1 000 MPa) injected into the L3 segment distributed in the middle of the vertebrae as spherical shape. 500 N pre-load was applied on the L2 surface with an additional bending moment of 50 N?m. The lower surface free degree of L4 was restrained. The L2-4 forward flexion, posterior extension, right flexion and axial rotation on the right side were stimulated. The stress changes of the fractured vertebrae and the upper and lower adjacent vertebrae before and after bone cement injection with different elastic moduli were compared.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The stress of the fractured vertebrae and adjacent vertebrae were significantly increased compared with that before operation. With the increase of elastic modulus, the stress of the fractured vertebrae increased, but there were no changes in the stress of adjacent vertebrae. These findings indicate that the elastic modulus of bone cement may be a method to reduce new fractures of the fractured and adjacent vertebrae after bone cement injection.

BACKGROUND:Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty can effectively repair osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, but postoperative change of stress in the fractured vertebrae and adjacent vertebrae can lead to new fractures. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the stress changes of the fractured and adjacent vertebrae with different bone cement injection volume by three-dimensional finite element method. METHODS:One healthy adult male volunteer was selected for lumbar spine CT scan. The acquired images were imported for three-dimensional reconstruction using Mimics. The three-dimensional model was smoothed, polished and denoised by Geomagic software, and then the solid mode was built under Workbench Ansys. The osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture model in L2-L4 segments was established after assignment. Bone cement of 1, 2, 4, 6 mL was injected into the L3 vertebrae respectively and distributed in the middle of the vertebrae as spherical shape. 500 N pre-load was applied on L2 surface with an additional moment of 50 N·m. The lower surface free degree of L4 was restrainted. The L2-L4 forward flexion, extension, right flexion and axial rotation on the right side were stimulated to compare the stress changes of fractured vertebrae and adjacent vertebrae before and after the bone cement injection with different volume. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The stresses of fractured and adjacent vertebrae after the bone cement injection were significantly increased; meanwhile, the stresses of fractured and adjacent vertebrae increased with the increase of bone cement injection volume, which may be one of the factors leading to the compression fractures of adjacent vertebrae.