AIM:To investigate the short-term efficacy of autologous serum eye drops combined with prednisolone acetate in the treatment of severe dry eye with grade II-III corneal injury.METHODS:Prospective, randomized, controlled single center study. Totally 122 patients(122 eyes, all enrolled patients had bilateral disease, with the more severely affected eye selected as the study eye; if the severity was similar between both eyes, the right eye was chosen as the study eye)with severe dry eye and grade II-III corneal injury who were treated at Wuhan University Affiliated Aier Eye Hospital from March 2023 to March 2025 were randomly divided into a control group(treated with sodium hyaluronate eye drops combined with autologous serum eye drops)and an observation group(treated with sodium hyaluronate eye drops, autologous serum eye drops combined with prednisolone acetate eye drops)using a random number table method. After continuous administration for 2 wk, the tear inflammatory reaction [interleukin-6(IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)], subjective symptoms [ocular surface disease index(OSDI)score], lacrimal gland function [tear film break-up time(TBUT)and Schirmer tear secretion test(SⅠt)], corneal injury degree [corneal fluorescein staining(CFS)score] and corneal nerve function [total number and density of corneal subepithelial nerve(SBN)] before and after treatment were compared between the two groups, and the occurrence of adverse reactions during treatment was recorded. RESULTS:All patients have completed follow-up. The control group consisted of 61 cases and 61 eyes, with 24 males and 37 females, with an average age of 43.87±5.12y. There were 61 cases and 61 eyes in the observation group, including 21 males and 40 females, with an average age of 42.15±4.76y. At 1 and 2 wk after treatment, the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in tears, OSDI score, and CFS score of the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment, and those in the observation group were lower than those in the control group(all P<0.05). The total number of TBUT, SⅠt, SBN, and SBN density in both groups of patients increased significantly compared to before treatment, and the observation group was higher than the control group(all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups of patients during treatment(P=0.717).CONCLUSION:The combination of autologous serum eye drops and prednisolone acetate is effective in treating severe dry eye with grade II-III corneal injury. It can reduce patients' inflammatory reactions, subjective symptoms, and degree of corneal injury, promote the improvement of lacrimal gland function and corneal nerve function, providing a new strategy for corneal nerve repair. Furthermore, the combination therapy does not increase the risk of adverse reactions and shows good safety in short-term application.

ObjectiveTo characterize the quality differences among different germplasm and introduced varieties of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium roots（BSR）， and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms， providing a basis for high-quality production and quality control. MethodsWild BSR from Yulin（YLW） served as the quality reference， we conducted comparative analysis among YLW， locally domesticated wild germplasm in Yulin（YLC3）， Daqing germplasm introduced and cultivated in Yulin（YLDQC3）， and locally cultivated germplasm in Daqing（DQC3）. A combination of traditional pharmacognostic methods and modern multi-omics analyses was employed， including macroscopic traits（appearance， odor）， microscopic features（proportions of cork， phloem， xylem）， cell wall component contents（hemicellulose， cellulose， lignin）， carbohydrate contents（starch， water-soluble polysaccharides）， marker compound contents（ethanol-soluble extracts， total saponins， liposoluble extracts， and saikosaponins A， B₂， C， D）， metabolomics， and transcriptomics， in order to systematically characterize quality differences and investigate molecular mechanisms among these samples. ResultsMacroscopically， Yulin-produced BSR（YLW， YLC3， YLDQC3） exhibited significantly greater weight， length， and upper and middle diameters than Daqing-produced BSR（DQC3）. Odor-wise， YLW and YLC3 had a a fragrance taste， YLDQC3 had a rancid oil odor， and DQC3 had a sweet and fragrant taste. Microscopically， Yulin germplasm（YLW， YLC3） and Daqing germplasm（YLDQC3， DQC3） shared similar structural features， respectively. However， Yulin germplasm showed significantly higher proportions of cork and phloem， as well as stronger xylem vessel staining intensity compared to Daqing germplasm. Regarding various component contents， Yulin germplasm contained significantly higher levels of ethanol-soluble extracts， total saponins， and saikosaponins A， B₂， C， D， while Daqing germplasm had significantly higher levels of hemicellulose， starch， and liposoluble extracts. After introduction to Yulin， the Daqing germplasm（YLDQC3） showed increased starch， water-soluble polysaccharides and liposoluble extracts contents， decreased cell wall component content， but no significant difference in other component contents. Metabolomics revealed that saponins and terpenes accumulated significantly in Yulin germplasm， while alcohols and aldehydes accumulated predominantly in Daqing germplasm. Transcriptomics indicated similar gene expression patterns within the same germplasm but specificity between different germplasms. Integrative metabolomic-transcriptomic analysis identified 145 potential key genes associated with the saikosaponin biosynthesis pathway， including one acetyl-coenzyme A（CoA） acetyltransferase gene（ACAT）， one 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase gene（HMGS）， two hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA（HMG-CoA） reductase genes（HMG）， one phosphomevalonate kinase gene（PMK）， one 1-deoxy-D-xylose-5-phosphate synthase gene（CLA）， one hydroxymethylbuten-1-aldol synthase gene（HDR）， two farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase genes（FPPS）， one squalene synthase gene（SQS）， one β-amyrin synthase gene（BAS）， 102 cytochrome P450（CYP450） gene family members， and 32 uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase（UGT） gene family members. ConclusionAmong the three cultivated types， YLC3 most closely resembles YLW in appearance， microscopic features， contents of major bioactive constituents， metabolomic and transcriptomic profiles. Yulin germplasm exhibits superior saponin synthesis capability compared to Daqing germplasm， and Yulin region is more suitable for the growth of B. scorzonerifolium. Based on these findings， it is recommended that artificial cultivation in northern Shaanxi and similar regions utilize the local Yulin germplasm source cultivated for at least three years.

ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of Jianpi Huazhuo Tiaozhi Granule （健脾化浊调脂颗粒， JHTG） in treating atherosclerosis （AS） based on the regulation of perivascular adipose tissue （PVAT） browning via the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/AKT） signaling pathway. MethodsFifteen SPF male C57BL/6J mice served as control group， while 76 ApoE^-/- mice were first fed a high-fat diet for 16 weeks to establish AS model. After successful modeling， they were randomly divided into model group （n=16）， as well as the browning group， the low-， medium- and high-dose JHTG group， with 15 mice in each group. The browning group was intraperitoneally injected with β3-adrenergic receptor agonist CL 316243 at 1 mg/（kg·d） once daily. The low-， medium- and high-dose JHTG groups were treated with 4.3 g/（kg·d）， 8.6 g/（kg·d）， and 17.2 g/（kg·d） of JHTG by gavage， respectively， while the control group and the model group were given normal saline at 10 ml/（kg·d） by intragastric administration， once daily. All groups received continuous intervention for 4 weeks. The aorta was collected to assess the plaque ratio by gross oil red O staining. HE staining was used to measure the plaque area in cross-sections. Masson staining was employed to detect the proportion of collagen fibers in plaque. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the quantity and morphological changes of mitochondria and lipid droplets in adipocytes. The levels of serum triglycerides （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） were detected， as well as tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α） and interleukin 6 （IL-6） levels in the PVAT and aorta. The protein levels of adiponectin and leptin in PVAT， and protein expression levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）， phosphorylated phosphoinositide 3-kinase （p-PI3K）， protein kinase B （AKT）， phosphorylated protein kinase B （p-AKT）， uncoupling protein 1 （UCP1）， peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α （PGC-1α）， and PR domain containing 16 （PRDM16） were measured. The mRNA expression levels of UCP1， PGC-1α and PRDM16 in PVAT were detected. ResultsCompared to the control group， the model group showed increased serum TG， TC， and LDL-C levels and decreased HDL-C level， elevated TNF-α and IL-6 levels in PVAT and aorta， decreased average fluorescence intensity of adiponectin， increased average fluorescence intensity of leptin， reduced p-PI3K/PI3K and p-AKT/AKT values as well as protein levels and mRNA expression levels of UCP1， PGC-1α and PRDM16 （P＜0.01）. The pathological results showed that no significant plaque formation was observed in the aortas of mice in the control group. In the model group， multiple plaques were observed in the aortas， with large numbers of foam cells， cholesterol crystals， and inflammatory cell aggregation in the plaques. Compared to the model group， the browning group and the high-dose JHTG group significantly improved the above indicators and aortic pathological changes （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Three JHTG groups showed a dose-dependent effect in reducing LDL-C level and plaque ratio by gross oil red O staining， elevating the average fluorescence intensity of adiponectin， the p-AKT/AKT value， the protein level of PGC-1α， and the mRNA expression levels of UCP1 and PRDM16 （P＜0.05）. The high-dose JHTG group and the browning group showed similar efficacy in improving the pathology of the aorta. ConclusionJHTG may promote PVAT browning in AS model mice through the PI3K/AKT pathway， improve the endocrine function of PVAT， inhibit aortic inflammation， and thereby ameliorate the formation of AS plaques.

Background/Aims: Acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) is one of the most essential metabolites in cell metabolism but its function and concentration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain elusive and controversial. Methods: A comprehensive analysis of acetyl-CoA levels and acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2) expression across a range of samples, including patient specimens from both hepatitis B virus (HBV) positive and HBV negative HCC individuals, HBV-transgenic mouse HCC models, and multiple cell lines. Furthermore, to evaluate the functional significance of ACSS2 in HBV-related HCC, we implemented both genetic and pharmacological inhibition strategies targeting ACSS2. Molecular mechanism and mitophagy assessment were revealed by cleavage under target and tagmentation sequencing, RNA sequencing, bioinformatic analyses, transmission electron microscopy and JC-1 staining. Results: Our study revealed a distinct metabolic signature of HBV-related HCC, marked by elevated acetyl-CoA, which was driven by ACSS2. ACSS2 was upregulated by the carbohydrate response element-binding protein in HBV-related HCC. Furthermore, ACSS2 improved tumor cell proliferation, an effect that was dependent on its enzymatic activity. Mechanistically, ACSS2-induced acetyl-CoA accumulation activated voltage-dependent anion channels 1 transcription through increased H3K27ac occupancy, which subsequently promoted mitophagy and HBV-related HCC tumorigenesis. Notably, targeting ACSS2 by depletion or inhibition with a catalytic inhibitor significantly suppressed tumor growth. Conclusions These findings not only illustrate the interplay between metabolic reprogramming, epigenetic modification, and tumorigenesis in the context of HBV infection, but also highlight ACSS2 as a novel metabolic vulnerability in HBV-related HCC. Therefore, targeting ACSS2 could be a novel strategy against HBV-related HCC.

A nodule in the right middle lobe of the lung was treated by a combination of cone-beam CT,three-dimensional registration for fusion imaging,and electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy-guided thermal ablation.The procedure lasted for 90 min,with no significant bleeding observed under the bronchoscope.The total radiation dose during the operation was 384 mGy.The patient recovered well postoperatively,with only a small amount of blood in the sputum and no pneumothorax or other complications.A follow-up chest CT on the first day post operation showed that the ablation area completely covered the lesion,and the patient was discharged successfully.
Humans ; Bronchoscopy/methods* ; Catheter Ablation/methods* ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Electromagnetic Phenomena ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella pose significant threats to worldwide public health safety.In this study,a rapid method for screening viable Salmonella in oyster sauce and milk was developed by utilizing an electronic microbial growth analyzer(EMGA).Target food samples were diluted 10-fold with RVS broth and loaded into test tubes.Test tubes were positioned in the EMGA to determine the bacterial growth curves and the time required to reach the maximum growth rate(Tmgr).Using Salmonella typhimurium(S.typhimurium)asan model species,there was linear relationship between the logarithmic value of viable bacterial concentration(lgC)and Tmgr over the range of 5×101-5×106 CFU/mL,with a detection limit of 10 CFU/mL.For oyster sauce,the regression equation was Tmgr(min)=-80.775lg[C/(CFU/mL)]+754.96(R2=0.9907),and the recovery rates of S.typhimurium ranged from 95.2%to 119.8%,with relative standard deviations(RSD)ranging from 3.5%to 16.3%.For milk,the regression equation was Tmgr(min)=-71.922 lg[C/(CFU/mL)]+618.65(R2=0.9985),with recovery rates ranging from 98.4%to 110.6%and RSD ranging from 6.4%to 12.8%.The EMGA method required only one portable instrument,and involving only three manual steps,i.e.,dilution,transfer,and insertion.When S.typhimurium contamination reached 106 CFU/mL,the total time consumption,from the unwrapping of samples to the readout of bacterial concentration,was no more than 7 h.When applied to detection of actual oyster sauce and milk samples,the new method demonstrated strong consistency with plate counting results in positive detection rates.This method was superior to the plate counting method,which was generally considered as a gold standard,in terms of accuracy,precision,simplicity and efficiency,representing a promising alternative for the on-site screening and quantification of viable Salmonella in oyster sauce and milk products.

Objective:To explore the value of quantitative parameters of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) combined with dynamic enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in predicting the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) .Methods:A total of 97 patients with LABC admitted to the hospital from Mar. 2020 to Mar. 2023 were studied and received neoadjuvant chemotherapy to evaluate the therapeutic effect, and DWI and DCE-MRI scans were performed before and after treatment. The difference of DWI and DCE-MRI quantitative parameters before treatment in patients with different therapeutic effects was compared, and the correlation between the difference of DWI and DCE-MRI quantitative parameters and therapeutic effect was analyzed. The predictive value of quantitative parameters of DWI and DCE-MRI before treatment was analyzed. The quantitative parameters of DWI and DCE-MRI in patients with different pathological reactions were compared before treatment, and the quantitative parameters of DWI and DCE-MRI were compared before and after treatment.Results:The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of patients with effective chemotherapy before treatment was higher, but transport constant (Ktrans) , extracellular space volume percentage (Ve) and rate constant (Kep) were lower ( t=5.0, 3.27, 3.55, 3.89, P < 0.05) ; Spearman correlation analysis showed that ADC was positively correlated with chemotherapy efficacy before treatment (r=0.66; P < 0.05) , while Kep, Ve, Ktrans were negatively correlated with it (r=-0.58, -0.47, -0.60; P < 0.05) ; ROC curves showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of ADC, Kep, Ve and Ktrans in predicting chemotherapy efficacy before treatment were 0.771, 0.797, 0.664 and 0.715, respectively, while the combined AUC value of each indicator was 0.832; Compared with patients with non-significant pathological response, ADC before treatment was higher in patients with significant pathological response, Kep, Ve and Ktrans were lower ( t=4.46, 3.32, 3.60, 3.95, P < 0.05) ; Compared with before treatment, ADC value increased after treatment, while Kep, Ve and Ktrans decreased ( t=8.77, 6.22, 9.34, 10.26, P < 0.05) . Conclusion:Quantitative parameters of DWI and DCE-MRI can reflect the changes in the condition of patients with locally advanced neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the combination of the two can help to improve the predictive value of chemotherapy efficacy in patients.

Metabolic reprogramming is a crucial feature of cancer.Among various metabolic processes,oxidative phosphorylation(OXPHOS)metabolism serves as the primary biochemical pathway for energy production and significantly influences tumorigenesis and tumor development.Therefore,this study aims to explore the impact of the metabolic characteristics of lung squamous cell carcinoma(LUSC)on its ma-lignant properties.By analyzing the single-cell transcriptome sequencing data of LUSC,lung adenocarci-noma,and normal lung tissues from the gene expression profile database,it was found that the OXPHOS signaling pathway and molecules related to ATP synthesis were remarkably enriched in LUSC tissues.Based on the OXPHOS signal intensity score,LUSC cells were classified into OXPHOShigh and OXPH-OSlow groups.Bioinformatics analysis revealed that 126 transcription factors were highly expressed in both LUSC tumor tissues and the OXPHOShigh group.Notably,the expression levels of cancer stem cell-related signals(such as SOX2,SOX9,POU2F1,CDX1,ARID3A,EZH2,and KLF5)were significantly en-hanced in the OXPHOShigh cell subset(P＜0.05).Treatment of LUSC cells with an OXPHOS antagonist significantly inhibited the sphere formation rate of H520 and SKMES-1 cells,which is a key characteristic of cancer stemness(P＜0.05).Analysis of cell-cell communication data from the LUSC single-cell tran-scriptome indicated that the signal emission and reception in OXPHOShigh cells were stronger than those in OXPHOSlow cells.Moreover,fibroblasts showed significant interaction with OXPHOShigh-LUSC cells.Co-culture of LUSC cell lines H520 and SKMES-1 with human lung fibroblast-like cell lines significantly in-creased the sphere formation rate of tumor cells(P＜0.05).Additionally,the levels of ATP,NADH-ac-tive enzymes,and reactive oxygen species(ROS)in co-cultured H520 and SKMES-1 cells were signifi-cantly elevated(P＜0.05).The results of this study confirm that the OXPHOS pathway is a key signal involved in LUSC metabolism,which is closely associated with the characteristics of cancer stem cells and the regulatory signals of fibroblast interactions.This finding holds promises for providing novel strategies for tumor treatment.

A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P＜0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P＜0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of crisaborole ointment 2% versus pimecrolimus cream 1% in the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in children aged 2 years or older.Methods:A multicenter, randomized, open-label, controlled clinical trial was conducted. A total of 120 pediatric patients aged 2 - 17 years with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis were enrolled from departments of dermatology of 8 hospitals in China between March 2022 and February 2023. The participants were randomly assigned in a 1∶1 ratio to the crisaborole group and the pimecrolimus group, and received the treatment with crisaborole ointment 2% and pimecrolimus cream 1% respectively, twice a day for 4 weeks. Visits were scheduled at baseline/on day 1, as well as on days 8, 15, and 29. The primary efficacy outcome was the percentage of patients achieving the Investigator's Static Global Assessment (ISGA) success (defined as clear [0] or almost clear [1] on the ISGA scale, combined with ≥ 2‐grade improvement from baseline) on day 29. The secondary efficacy outcomes included changes in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) total scores from baseline to day 29, percentages of patients achieving ISGA improvement (defined as clear [0] or almost clear [1] on the ISGA scale), as well as changes in the Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scores, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) /Infants' Dermatology Life Quality Index (IDLQI) /Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) scores, and in the Dermatitis Family Impact (DFI) scores. Drug safety was evaluated according to the incidence of adverse events. Categorical data were compared using the chi-square test. Since measurement data did not follow a normal distribution, the rank sum test was used for comparisons of measurement data between groups.Results:A total of 106 children with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis were included in the per-protocol analysis set, with 52 in the crisaborole group (26 males and 26 females) and 54 in the pimecrolimus group (27 males and 27 females). There were no significant differences in age, disease duration, ISGA and EASI scores at baseline between the two groups (all P > 0.05). On day 29, 22 patients (42.31%) in the crisaborole group and 25 (46.30%) in the pimecrolimus group achieved ISGA success, with no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2 = 0.17, P = 0.68) ; 35 patients (67.31%) in the crisaborole group and 45 (83.33%) in the pimecrolimus group achieved ISGA improvement, also with no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2 = 3.68, P = 0.06) ; additionally, there were no significant differences in the EASI, pruritus NRS, DLQI/IDLQI/CDLQI, or DFI scores between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Adverse reactions to the two topical agents were mainly local reactions such as mild to moderate pain, itching, or worsening of itching, and no obvious systemic adverse reactions occurred. The incidence of drug-related adverse reactions was 46.15% (24 cases) in the crisaborole group and 37.04% (20 cases) in the pimecrolimus group, with no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2 = 0.91, P = 0.34) . Conclusion:The efficacy of crisaborole ointment 2% was comparable to that of pimecrolimus cream 1% in the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in children aged ≥ 2 years, and it yielded early and rapid improvement in the quality of life of patients and their families, with good safety and tolerability profiles.