OBJECTIVES: Recent evidence suggests that the gut may be a primary site of metformin action. However, studies on the effects of metformin on gut microbiota remain limited, and its impact on gut microbial metabolites such as short-/medium-chain fatty acids is unclear. This study aims to investigate the effects of metformin on gut microbiota, short-/medium-chain fatty acids, and associated metabolic benefits in high-fat diet rats. METHODS: Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: 1) Normal diet group (ND group), fed standard chow; 2) high-fat diet group (HFD group), fed a high-fat diet; 3) high-fat diet + metformin treatment group (HFD+Met group), fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks, followed by daily intragastric administration of metformin solution (150 mg/kg body weight) starting in week 9. At the end of the experiment, all rats were sacrificed, and serum, liver, and colonic contents were collected for assessment of glucose and lipid metabolism, liver pathology, gut microbiota composition, and the concentrations of short-/medium-chain fatty acids. RESULTS: Metformin significantly improved HFD-induced glucose and lipid metabolic disorders and liver injury. Compared with the HFD group, the HFD+Met group showed reduced abundance of Blautia, Romboutsia, Bilophila, and Bacteroides, while Lactobacillus abundance significantly increased (all P<0.05). Colonic contents of butyric acid, 2-methyl butyric acid, valeric acid, octanoic acid, and lauric acid were significantly elevated (all P<0.05), whereas acetic acid, isoheptanoic acid, and nonanoic acid levels were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed that Lactobacillus abundance was negatively correlated with body weight gain and insulin resistance, while butyrate and valerate levels were negatively correlated with insulin resistance and liver injury (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Metformin significantly increases the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and promotes the production of short-/medium-chain fatty acids including butyric, valeric, and lauric acid in the colonic contents of HFD rats, suggesting that metformin may regulate host metabolism through modulation of the gut microbiota.
Animals ; Metformin/pharmacology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Rats ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Male ; Fatty Acids, Volatile/metabolism* ; Fatty Acids/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (Chenpi, CRP) is one of the most used traditional Chinese medicines with great medicinal, dietary and collection values, among which the Citrus reticulata cv. 'Chachi' (Citrus reticulata cv. Chachiensis) from Guangdong Xinhui is the geoherb of CRP. Xinhui CRP in the market was often counterfeited with other varieties or origins, molecular identification method can effectively distinguish different CRP varieties, but it's still a difficult problem to identify the same CRP variety from different origin. It is necessary to discover a new molecular marker to ensure the safe and effective application of Xinhui CRP. METHODS: We selected one of the most studied transcription factor families in Citrus genus, MYB, to design the specific candidate primers on the conserved region. The primers with good band repeatability and high polymorphism were screened for PCR amplification of the test materials, and the genetic similarity coefficient among different families, genera, species, and origins were calculated. The cluster analysis was performed by unweighted pair group method using arithmetic average (UPGMA). RESULTS: A total of ten MYB primers were screened out to identify Xinhui CRP from plants from different family (Panax ginseng and Morus alba), genus (Clausena lansium and Zanthoxylum schinifolium), and species (Citrus reticulata, C. sinensis and C. maxima). Furthermore, two from the ten primers, M1 and M10, were found to distinguish Xinhui CRP from other origins. There were 169, 113, 133 and 134 polymorphic bands in the identification of different families, genera, species, and origins respectively, and the accordingly polymorphism ration were 79.88%, 76.87%, 79.20% and 82.84%. Moreover, M1 was discovered to be the best primer to identify Xinhui CRP from other seven origins, the cluster analysis results based on the genetic similarity coefficients were consistent with the geographical distribution. CONCLUSION This study established a novel molecular identification method according to MYB transcription factor, which can analyze the potential parental relationship of CRP germplasm, as well as identify the quality and origins of Xinhui CPR.

This study was aimed atanalyzing the epidemic characteristics of dengue fever in Ruili City atthe China-Myanmar bor-der in late 2023,to provide evidence for local dengue fever prevention and control measures.Adult Aedes mosquitoes were collected from Ruili City with a backpack type mosquito sucking machine in October of 2023.Serum samples frompatients with suspected den-gue were collected in acutephase,in November of 2023.Detection ofdengue virus(DENV)nucleic acids in Aedesmosquitoes and acute phase serum samples from suspected dengue fever patients using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,and nucleic acid positive samples were inoculated into Vero cells for viral culture.After three consecutive blind passage,samples with cytopathic effect(CPE)were collected for be sequencingand analysisof genetic and evolutionary information.Dengue case characteristics were analyzed through descriptive epidemiological methods.Among the 109 cases of dengue fever,the ratio of males to females was 1.27∶1.The youngest patient was 1 year old,the oldest patient was 84 years old,the age group of 20～59 years accounted for 73.39%,and the major-ity of occupations were freelancer(40.37%).A total of 827 female Aedes albopictus and 312 Aedes aegypti were collected,all of which tested negative for DENV nucleic acid.109 serum samples tested positive for DENV nucleic acid,including 49 DENV-1 and 60 DENV-2.Moreover,five DENV-1 and nine DENV-2 samples were obtainedthrough third-generation blind passaging with CPE.The E gene sequences of these five DENV-1 strains were detected,all were found to belong to DENV-1 genotype I,and had same evolu-tionary branch as the 2023 Guangzhou,China(PP563911),the 2019 Myanmar(MW793710),and 2019 Attapeu,Laos(MW559046).The nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarityamong the five DENV-1 genotype was 99.4%-99.9%and 99.8%-100.0%.Compared with the aforementioned epidemic strains,their nucleotide similarities were 99.5%-100.0%,99.4%-99.6%and 99.3%-99.5%,respec-tively,and amino acid similarity was 99.8%-100.0%.Nine DENV-2 E gene sequences were of Asian genotype I and belonged to the same evolutionary branch as the 2018 Myanmar(MW788982),2019 Hangzhou(OP684212)and 2019 Ruili(OQ928150).The nucleotide and amino acid similarities of the nine samples were 99.5%-100.0%and 99.8%-100.0%,respectively.Compared with the aforementioned epidemic strains,their nucleotide similarities were 99.7%-100.0%,99.3%-99.7%and 99.3%-99.7%,respectively,and the amino acid similarity was 99.8%-100%,99.8%-100.0%and 99.4%-99.6%,respectively.Two dengue vectors,Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti,were present in Ruili city,and the dengue outbreak was caused primarily by DENV-1 genotype I and DENV-2 Asian genotype I in later 2023.The sources of DENV-1 were probably the same as those of DENV-1 with Guangzhou(2023),and the sources of DENV-2 were probably from Myanmar.Dengue cases were found primarilyin the 20-59 year age group and freelancers,thus suggesting that relevant local departments should strengthen surveillance of dengue imported case and vector.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of mitochondrial fission inhibitor 1(Mdivi-1),on organ function in rats with explosive blast injury combined with hemorrhagic shock.Methods A total of 192 SD rats(half male and half female,12 weeks old,weighing about 220 g)were randomly divided into 6 groups:Sham group(only surgical incision along the midline of the abdomen),model group(ESH group,thermal radiation and shock wave injury followed by femoral artery hemorrhage),lactated Ringer's solution resuscitation group(ESH+LR group,LR solution infusion in the femoral vein for resuscitation),and low-,middle-and high-dose Mdivi-1 groups(0.1,0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg Mdivi-1 intervention after infusion of LR solution).Fluorescent protein tracing was used to determine the leakage amount of fluorescent protein in the lung and kidney tissues to evaluate the vascular permeability.Evans blue dye staining was employed to observe the intestinal permeability and pulmonary vascular permeability.Laser Doppler flowmetry was applied to monitor the tissue blood perfusion in the liver,kidneys,and intestine.Serum levels of cardiac injury marker troponin I(TNI),liver function markers aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alanine aminotransferase(ALT),and renal function markers serum creatinine(Scr)and blood urea nitrogen(BUN)were detected to evaluate the functions of corresponding organs.The water contents of the lungs and brain were calculated by measuring wet weight and dry weight of the lung and brain tissues.Blood pressure,heart rate,and respiratory rate were monitored.The survival time and 72-hour survival rate were recorded and calculated.Results Compared with the Sham group,the ESH group exhibited significantly increased vascular permeability in the lungs and kidneys as well as intestinal tissue(P<0.05),along with obviously elevated water contents in the lungs and brain(P<0.05),and decreased blood perfusion in the liver,kidneys,and intestine by 57.1%,39.2%,and 43.2%of the Sham group,respectively(P<0.05),elevated levels of TNI,AST,ALT,Scr and BUN(P<0.05),mean survival time of 3.8±1.1 h,and a 72-hour survival rate of 0(P<0.05).Although LR solution resuscitation reduced vascular permeability and alleviated organ injury in rats with explosive injury combined with hemorrhagic shock,there were no significant differences compared to the ESH group(P>0.05).Mdivi-1 treatment notably decreased vascular permeability in the lungs and kidneys and intestine,and water contents in the lungs and brain when compared with the LR group(P<0.05),with the dose of 0.5 mg/kg demonstrating the most significant effect.Additionally,Mdivi-1 treatment also significantly enhanced organ perfusion,improved organ functions,prolonged survival time,and increased survival rate.The 0.5 mg/kg treatment resulted in a 72-hour average survival time 55.64 h and a survival rate of 62.5%.Conclusion Mitochondrial fission inhibitor Mdivi-1 can reduce the permeabilities in the lungs,kidneys and intestine,improve tissue blood perfusion,protect the organ functions of the heart,liver and kidneys,and finally prolong survival time and increase survival rate in rats with concomitant explosive blast injury and hemorrhagic shock.

This study was aimed atanalyzing the epidemic characteristics of dengue fever in Ruili City atthe China-Myanmar bor-der in late 2023,to provide evidence for local dengue fever prevention and control measures.Adult Aedes mosquitoes were collected from Ruili City with a backpack type mosquito sucking machine in October of 2023.Serum samples frompatients with suspected den-gue were collected in acutephase,in November of 2023.Detection ofdengue virus(DENV)nucleic acids in Aedesmosquitoes and acute phase serum samples from suspected dengue fever patients using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,and nucleic acid positive samples were inoculated into Vero cells for viral culture.After three consecutive blind passage,samples with cytopathic effect(CPE)were collected for be sequencingand analysisof genetic and evolutionary information.Dengue case characteristics were analyzed through descriptive epidemiological methods.Among the 109 cases of dengue fever,the ratio of males to females was 1.27∶1.The youngest patient was 1 year old,the oldest patient was 84 years old,the age group of 20～59 years accounted for 73.39%,and the major-ity of occupations were freelancer(40.37%).A total of 827 female Aedes albopictus and 312 Aedes aegypti were collected,all of which tested negative for DENV nucleic acid.109 serum samples tested positive for DENV nucleic acid,including 49 DENV-1 and 60 DENV-2.Moreover,five DENV-1 and nine DENV-2 samples were obtainedthrough third-generation blind passaging with CPE.The E gene sequences of these five DENV-1 strains were detected,all were found to belong to DENV-1 genotype I,and had same evolu-tionary branch as the 2023 Guangzhou,China(PP563911),the 2019 Myanmar(MW793710),and 2019 Attapeu,Laos(MW559046).The nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarityamong the five DENV-1 genotype was 99.4%-99.9%and 99.8%-100.0%.Compared with the aforementioned epidemic strains,their nucleotide similarities were 99.5%-100.0%,99.4%-99.6%and 99.3%-99.5%,respec-tively,and amino acid similarity was 99.8%-100.0%.Nine DENV-2 E gene sequences were of Asian genotype I and belonged to the same evolutionary branch as the 2018 Myanmar(MW788982),2019 Hangzhou(OP684212)and 2019 Ruili(OQ928150).The nucleotide and amino acid similarities of the nine samples were 99.5%-100.0%and 99.8%-100.0%,respectively.Compared with the aforementioned epidemic strains,their nucleotide similarities were 99.7%-100.0%,99.3%-99.7%and 99.3%-99.7%,respectively,and the amino acid similarity was 99.8%-100%,99.8%-100.0%and 99.4%-99.6%,respectively.Two dengue vectors,Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti,were present in Ruili city,and the dengue outbreak was caused primarily by DENV-1 genotype I and DENV-2 Asian genotype I in later 2023.The sources of DENV-1 were probably the same as those of DENV-1 with Guangzhou(2023),and the sources of DENV-2 were probably from Myanmar.Dengue cases were found primarilyin the 20-59 year age group and freelancers,thus suggesting that relevant local departments should strengthen surveillance of dengue imported case and vector.

[Objective] To explore the characteristics of lifestyle behaviors and mental health status among blood donors in Guangzhou, and to investigate the correlation between donation frequency and these factors. [Methods] A cross-sectional study was conducted among 13 042 whole blood donors from 17 street blood donation sites of Guangzhou Blood Center from May to August 2020. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the characteristics of lifestyle behaviors and mental health status among blood donors in Guangzhou. Ordinal multinomial logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlation between donation frequency and these factors. [Results] It was found that some of 13 042 blood donors had unhealthy habits, such as 6.8% (698/10 214，2 828 missing values) had severe tobacco dependence, 30.6% (3 997/13 042) had low exercise levels, 38.8%（5 056/13 042）had poor sleep quality, and 2.2% (271/12 159，883 missing values) had alcohol dependence. In addition, 2.8% (364/13 042) and 1.3% (172/13 042) of the donors may have moderate to severe depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The results of the ordinal multinomial logistic regression model showed that exercise level was significantly negatively correlated with the degree of depression and anxiety among blood donors. With the decrease in exercise level, the possibility of depression and anxiety among donors increased significantly. BMI, household income, education level, marital status, donation frequency, alcohol consumption and smoking had no significant correlation with the mental health status of donors. [Conclusion] Improving the exercise habits of blood donors may help enhance their mental health level. It is recommended that blood station staff strengthen the content of exercise when providing health education to blood donors to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It also suggests that there may be a certain degree of under-diagnosis of mental health problems in the process of health consultation before blood donation, and conducting more comprehensive and effective mental health assessments for blood donors is recommended.

Objective:This study collected a real-world data on survival and efficacy of gemcitabine-containing therapy in advanced breast cancer. Aimed to find the main reasons of affecting the duration of gemcitabine-base therapy in advanced breast cancer patients.Methods:Advanced breast cancer patients who received gemcitabine-base therapy from January 2017 to January 2019 were enrolled(10 hospitals). The clinicopathological data, the number of chemotherapy cycles and the reasons for treatment termination were collected and analyzed. To identify the reasons related with continuous treatment for advanced breast cancer and the factors which affect the survival and efficacy.Results:A total of 224 patients with advanced breast cancer were enrolled in this study, with a median age of 52 years (26-77 years), 55.4%(124/224) was postmenopausal. Luminal type were 83 cases, TNBC were 97 cases, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER's-2) overexpression were 44. At the analysis, 224 patients who received the gemcitabine-based regimens were evaluated, included 5 complete reponse (CR), 77 partial response (PR), 112 stable disease (SD) and 27 progressive disease (PD). The objective response rate (ORR) was 36.6%(82/224). Seventy patients had serious adverse diseases, including leukopenia (9), neutrophilia (49), thrombocytopenia (15), and elevated transaminase (2). The median follow-up time was 41 months (26~61 months), and the median PFS was 5.6 months. The reasons of termination treatment were listed: disease progression were 90 patients; personal reasons were 51 patients; adverse drug reactions were 18 patients; completed treatment were 65 patients. It was found that progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer in patients receiving >6 cycles than that in patients with ≤6 cycles (8.2 months vs 5.4 months, HR=2.474, 95% CI: 1.730-3.538, P＜0.001). Conclusions:Gemcitabine-based regimen is generally well tolerated in the Chinese population and has relatively ideal clinical efficacy in the real world. The median PFS is significantly prolonged when the number of treatment cycles are appropriately increased.

Endo-periodontal lesions(EPLs)involve both the periodontium and pulp tissue and have complicated etiologies and pathogenic mechanisms,including unique anatomical and microbiological characteristics and multiple contributing factors.This etiological complexity leads to difficulties in determining patient prognosis,posing great challenges in clinical practice.Furthermore,EPL-affected teeth require multidisciplinary therapy,including periodontal therapy,endodontic therapy and others,but there is still much debate about the appropriate timing of periodontal therapy and root canal therapy.By compiling the most recent findings on the etiology,pathogenesis,clinical characteristics,diagnosis,therapy,and prognosis of EPL-affected teeth,this consensus sought to support clinicians in making the best possible treatment decisions based on both biological and clinical evidence.

Objective:This study collected a real-world data on survival and efficacy of gemcitabine-containing therapy in advanced breast cancer. Aimed to find the main reasons of affecting the duration of gemcitabine-base therapy in advanced breast cancer patients.Methods:Advanced breast cancer patients who received gemcitabine-base therapy from January 2017 to January 2019 were enrolled(10 hospitals). The clinicopathological data, the number of chemotherapy cycles and the reasons for treatment termination were collected and analyzed. To identify the reasons related with continuous treatment for advanced breast cancer and the factors which affect the survival and efficacy.Results:A total of 224 patients with advanced breast cancer were enrolled in this study, with a median age of 52 years (26-77 years), 55.4%(124/224) was postmenopausal. Luminal type were 83 cases, TNBC were 97 cases, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER's-2) overexpression were 44. At the analysis, 224 patients who received the gemcitabine-based regimens were evaluated, included 5 complete reponse (CR), 77 partial response (PR), 112 stable disease (SD) and 27 progressive disease (PD). The objective response rate (ORR) was 36.6%(82/224). Seventy patients had serious adverse diseases, including leukopenia (9), neutrophilia (49), thrombocytopenia (15), and elevated transaminase (2). The median follow-up time was 41 months (26~61 months), and the median PFS was 5.6 months. The reasons of termination treatment were listed: disease progression were 90 patients; personal reasons were 51 patients; adverse drug reactions were 18 patients; completed treatment were 65 patients. It was found that progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer in patients receiving >6 cycles than that in patients with ≤6 cycles (8.2 months vs 5.4 months, HR=2.474, 95% CI: 1.730-3.538, P＜0.001). Conclusions:Gemcitabine-based regimen is generally well tolerated in the Chinese population and has relatively ideal clinical efficacy in the real world. The median PFS is significantly prolonged when the number of treatment cycles are appropriately increased.

This experiment aims to investigate the effects of a dietary supplement of herbal tea resi-due on white feather broilers in the prospectives of growth performance,serum indexes and intesti-nal immune indexes.A total of 280 1-day-old white feather broilers with similar body mass and good health were randomly divided into 4 groups with 5 replicates per group and 14 birds per repli-cate.Group Ⅰ(control group)was fed a basal diet.Groups Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ were fed a diet supple-mented with 2％,4％and 6％herbal tea residue powder,respectively.The feeding lasted for 49 days,and was divided into 2 phases from 1 to 21 days of age and 22 to 49 days of age.Blood,tissue and mucosa of the duodenum and jejunum were collected on 21 d and 49 d.Total cholesterol(T-CHO),triglyceride(TG),high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and the activities of aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alanine amin-otransferase(ALT)in the serum were examined.The villus height and crypt depth of the jejunum were observed and measured by morphology.The mRNA expression levels of intestinal interleukin-1β(IL-1β),interleukin-2(IL-2),interleukin-4(IL-4),interleukin-10(IL-10)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were determined by qPCR.The results showed that compared with group Ⅰ,the mass of group Ⅲ on 21 d and 49 d significantly increased(P＜0.05).The average daily feed intake of 22-49 d and 1-49 d significantly increased(P＜0.05).The average daily mass gain of 1-21 d,22-49 d and 1-49 d significantly increased(P＜0.05).In the serum of 21 d,compared with group Ⅰ,T-CHO in group Ⅱ significantly decreased(P＜0.05).TG in groups Ⅱ,m and Ⅳ significantly de-creased(P＜0.05).LDL-C and AST activity in group Ⅳ significantly decreased(P＜0.05).In the serum of 49 d,T-CHO in group Ⅲ,LDL-C in group Ⅳ,HDL-C of groups Ⅲ and Ⅳ significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the ALT activity of these two groups decreased(P＜0.05).AST activity in group Ⅱ significantly decreased(P＜0.05).In the duodenum of 21 d,compared with group Ⅰ,the expressions of TNF-α in group Ⅱ was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).In the duodenum of 49 d,the expression of IL-10 in group Ⅱ was significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the expression of IL-2 in groups Ⅲ and Ⅳ was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).In the jejunum of 49 d,the ex-pression of IL-10 in group Ⅱ was increased(P＜0.05),and the expression of IL-2 in groups Ⅲand Ⅳ was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).In conclusion,dietary herbal tea residue can regulate circulating lipid level and enhance intestinal immunity of white feather broilers without affecting their normal growth performance.This experiment also suggested that the a 2％-4％supplementa-tion of herbal tea residues to white feather broilers was of good effect.