The AP2/ERF transcription factor family is a class of transcription factors widely present in plants, playing a crucial role in regulating flowering, flower development, flower opening, and flower senescence. Based on transcriptome data from flower, leaf, and stem samples of two Lonicera macranthoides varieties, 117 L. macranthoides AP2/ERF family members were identified, including 14 AP2 subfamily members, 61 ERF subfamily members, 40 DREB subfamily members, and 2 RAV subfamily members. Bioinformatics and differential gene expression analyses were performed using NCBI, ExPASy, SOMPA, and other platforms, and the expression patterns of L. macranthoides AP2/ERF transcription factors were validated via qRT-PCR. The results indicated that the 117 LmAP2/ERF members exhibited both similarities and variations in protein physicochemical properties, AP2 domains, family evolution, and protein functions. Differential gene expression analysis revealed that AP2/ERF transcription factors were primarily differentially expressed in the flowers of the two L. macranthoides varieties, with the differentially expressed genes mainly belonging to the ERF and DREB subfamilies. Further analysis identified three AP2 subfamily genes and two ERF subfamily genes as potential regulators of flower development, two ERF subfamily genes involved in flower opening, and two ERF subfamily genes along with one DREB subfamily gene involved in flower senescence. Based on family evolution and expression analyses, it is speculated that AP2/ERF transcription factors can regulate flower development, opening, and senescence in L. macranthoides, with ERF subfamily genes potentially serving as key regulators of flowering duration. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for further research into the specific functions of the AP2/ERF transcription factor family in L. macranthoides and offer important theoretical insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying floral phenotypic differences among its varieties.
Plant Proteins/chemistry* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Transcription Factors/chemistry* ; Lonicera/classification* ; Flowers/metabolism* ; Phylogeny ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Multigene Family

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Qingda Granule (QDG) in ameliorating hypertension-induced cardiac damage and investigate the underlying mechanisms involved. METHODS: Twenty spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were used to develope a hypertension-induced cardiac damage model. Another 10 Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as normotension group. Rats were administrated intragastrically QDG [0.9 g/(kg•d)] or an equivalent volume of pure water for 8 weeks. Blood pressure, histopathological changes, cardiac function, levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory response markers were measured. Furthermore, to gain insights into the potential mechanisms underlying the protective effects of QDG against hypertension-induced cardiac injury, a network pharmacology study was conducted. Predicted results were validated by Western blot, radioimmunoassay immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. RESULTS: The administration of QDG resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure levels in SHRs (P<0.01). Histological examinations, including hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson trichrome staining revealed that QDG effectively attenuated hypertension-induced cardiac damage. Furthermore, echocardiography demonstrated that QDG improved hypertension-associated cardiac dysfunction. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and colorimetric method indicated that QDG significantly reduced oxidative stress and inflammatory response levels in both myocardial tissue and serum (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Both network pharmacology and experimental investigations confirmed that QDG exerted its beneficial effects in decreasing hypertension-induced cardiac damage by regulating the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)/angiotensin II (Ang II)/Ang II receptor type 1 axis and ACE/Ang II/Ang II receptor type 2 axis.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Hypertension/pathology* ; Renin-Angiotensin System/drug effects* ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Male ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Rats ; Inflammation/pathology*

Ergonomic Principle for the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Part 1: General Principles (T/WSJD 14.1-2020) is the first guideline standard for the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders provided to employers and occupational health technical service institutions in China, which covers ergonomic risk factors and their hazard definition, ergonomic prevention principles, risk assessment process, risk control process and risk evaluation principles. The standard specifically clarify the specific types of adverse ergonomic risk factors and control strategies and the standard process of systematic ergonomic risk assessment, providing implementation paths and practical guidance for eliminating/reducing adverse ergonomic risks and enhance workplace environments to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This paper interprets and analyzes the background of standard establishment, formulation process, fundamental basis, and main content, etc., to provide scientific and accurate technical support for enterprise managers, labours and technical personnel of occupational health institutions to optimize the use of this standard.

Objective To explore the correlation between glycemic control and complexity of drug treatment regimens in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods A retrospective,cross-sectional study was conducted to collect the elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology at the Geriatric Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2022 to December 2024.The clinical characteristics and medication compliance of the patients were recorded through pharmaceutical consultations.The medication regimen complexity index(MRCI)and diabetes-specific medication regimen complexity index(D-MRCI)were calculated for each patient.Patients were divided into the target-achieving group and the non-target-achieving group based on whether their blood glucose met the criteria.Univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to identify the factors associated with adequate blood glucose control.Results A total of 152 patients were included,123(80.9%)had poorer glycemic control,31.6%exhibited good medication adherence,and 76.3%demonstrated good adherence to diabetes medications.The mean total MRCI score was(25.90±8.63),while the median D-MRCI score was 9.00(5.25,11.75),with 44.7%of patients classified as having high D-MRCI scores(D-MRCI>9).The results of Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the number of medications used by patients was highly correlated with the MRCI score(r=0.899,P<0.001),while the number of diabetes medications used was highly correlated with the D-MRCI score(r=0.705,P<0.001).Univariate analysis results revealed that high complexity diabetes medication regimen,duration of diabetes,the number of types of antidiabetic drugs,and the number of injectable antidiabetic medications were associated with glycemic control(P≤0.05).Multivariate analysis results showed that,high diabetes medication complexity was an independent risk factor for inadequate blood glucose control[OR=4.119,95%CI(1.121,15.139),P=0.033].Conclusion Higher D-MRCI(>9)was associated with poorer glycemic control.Simplifying medication regimens and optimizing medication management strategies may improve patient outcomes.

Aim To investigate the effects of sodium lactate(NALA)on right heart failure induced by monocrotaline(MCT)-induced pulmonary arterial hy-pertension in rats and to reveal the underlying mecha-nisms.Methods Forty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly allocated into four groups,with ten rats in each group,namely,MCT group,NALA group,and NALA+MCT group;the MCT and NALA+MCT groups were administered a single intraperito-neal injection of MCT at 60 mg·kg-1 to induce pul-monary hypertension,and one week later,the NALA and NALA+MCT groups received intraperitoneal in-jections of NALA at 0.1 g·kg-1(once a day,for 5 weeks),while the CON and MCT groups received e-qual volumes of physiological saline(once a day,for 5 weeks);right heart function was assessed using echo-cardiography,right ventricular and pulmonary artery remodeling were evaluated via histopathological sec-tions,and the expression levels of ANP,BNP,and in-flammatory factors were measured by ELISA,along with assessments of oxidative stress levels,Western blot detection of the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.Results Compared to the CON group,the MCT group exhibited increased RVSP and RVHI,decreased right heart function,in-creased collagen fiber deposition,and elevated oxida-tive stress and inflammatory factor expression,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signa-ling pathway increased(P＜0.05);compared to the MCT group,the NALA+MCT group showed reduced RVSP and RVHI,improved right heart function,atten-uated pulmonary vascular remodeling,decreased ex-pression of ANP,BNP,inflammatory factors,and H2O2,along with increased antioxidant enzyme expres-sion,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusion NALA can inhibit right ventric-ular remodeling in rats with pulmonary hypertension,and the underlying mechanism may involve the allevia-tion of inflammatory responses and oxidative stress through the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective To explore the correlation between glycemic control and complexity of drug treatment regimens in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods A retrospective,cross-sectional study was conducted to collect the elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology at the Geriatric Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2022 to December 2024.The clinical characteristics and medication compliance of the patients were recorded through pharmaceutical consultations.The medication regimen complexity index(MRCI)and diabetes-specific medication regimen complexity index(D-MRCI)were calculated for each patient.Patients were divided into the target-achieving group and the non-target-achieving group based on whether their blood glucose met the criteria.Univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to identify the factors associated with adequate blood glucose control.Results A total of 152 patients were included,123(80.9%)had poorer glycemic control,31.6%exhibited good medication adherence,and 76.3%demonstrated good adherence to diabetes medications.The mean total MRCI score was(25.90±8.63),while the median D-MRCI score was 9.00(5.25,11.75),with 44.7%of patients classified as having high D-MRCI scores(D-MRCI>9).The results of Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the number of medications used by patients was highly correlated with the MRCI score(r=0.899,P<0.001),while the number of diabetes medications used was highly correlated with the D-MRCI score(r=0.705,P<0.001).Univariate analysis results revealed that high complexity diabetes medication regimen,duration of diabetes,the number of types of antidiabetic drugs,and the number of injectable antidiabetic medications were associated with glycemic control(P≤0.05).Multivariate analysis results showed that,high diabetes medication complexity was an independent risk factor for inadequate blood glucose control[OR=4.119,95%CI(1.121,15.139),P=0.033].Conclusion Higher D-MRCI(>9)was associated with poorer glycemic control.Simplifying medication regimens and optimizing medication management strategies may improve patient outcomes.

Aim To investigate the effects of sodium lactate(NALA)on right heart failure induced by monocrotaline(MCT)-induced pulmonary arterial hy-pertension in rats and to reveal the underlying mecha-nisms.Methods Forty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly allocated into four groups,with ten rats in each group,namely,MCT group,NALA group,and NALA+MCT group;the MCT and NALA+MCT groups were administered a single intraperito-neal injection of MCT at 60 mg·kg-1 to induce pul-monary hypertension,and one week later,the NALA and NALA+MCT groups received intraperitoneal in-jections of NALA at 0.1 g·kg-1(once a day,for 5 weeks),while the CON and MCT groups received e-qual volumes of physiological saline(once a day,for 5 weeks);right heart function was assessed using echo-cardiography,right ventricular and pulmonary artery remodeling were evaluated via histopathological sec-tions,and the expression levels of ANP,BNP,and in-flammatory factors were measured by ELISA,along with assessments of oxidative stress levels,Western blot detection of the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.Results Compared to the CON group,the MCT group exhibited increased RVSP and RVHI,decreased right heart function,in-creased collagen fiber deposition,and elevated oxida-tive stress and inflammatory factor expression,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signa-ling pathway increased(P＜0.05);compared to the MCT group,the NALA+MCT group showed reduced RVSP and RVHI,improved right heart function,atten-uated pulmonary vascular remodeling,decreased ex-pression of ANP,BNP,inflammatory factors,and H2O2,along with increased antioxidant enzyme expres-sion,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusion NALA can inhibit right ventric-ular remodeling in rats with pulmonary hypertension,and the underlying mechanism may involve the allevia-tion of inflammatory responses and oxidative stress through the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Ergonomic Principle for the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Part 1: General Principles (T/WSJD 14.1-2020) is the first guideline standard for the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders provided to employers and occupational health technical service institutions in China, which covers ergonomic risk factors and their hazard definition, ergonomic prevention principles, risk assessment process, risk control process and risk evaluation principles. The standard specifically clarify the specific types of adverse ergonomic risk factors and control strategies and the standard process of systematic ergonomic risk assessment, providing implementation paths and practical guidance for eliminating/reducing adverse ergonomic risks and enhance workplace environments to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This paper interprets and analyzes the background of standard establishment, formulation process, fundamental basis, and main content, etc., to provide scientific and accurate technical support for enterprise managers, labours and technical personnel of occupational health institutions to optimize the use of this standard.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]