ObjectiveThis study aimed to elucidate the mechanistic role of Staphylococcus aureus in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by pruritus and barrier dysfunction. A key focus was screening traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) active components with dual antibacterial and antipruritic efficacy, followed by systematic evaluation of their in vitro antibacterial activity. Additionally, a novel drug delivery system was constructed to enable localized efficient drug delivery, inhibiting S. aureus proliferation and alleviating its induced pruritus, thereby providing new strategies for targeted AD therapy. MethodsMale C57BL/6J mice aged 6-8 weeks (body weight 18-22 g) were used to establish an AD model via repeated oxazolone sensitization. On day 14, microbial samples were collected from the lesional area (1 cm²) using sterile cotton swabs, followed by vortex mixing, serial dilution, and plating on 5% sheep blood agar plates (incubated at 37°C for 24 h). Single colonies with complete transparent β-hemolytic zones were isolated and identified as vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) via 16S rRNA sequencing. An S. aureus mono-infection animal model was then established by applying gauze saturated with bacterial suspension (McFarland turbidity 0.1) to the nape and back skin of mice. The pruritic phenotype and inflammatory cell infiltration induced by S. aureus were evaluated using comprehensive approaches including behavioral assays (e.g., scratching frequency recording), hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and toluidine blue staining. The in vitro antibacterial efficacy of the TCM monomer pseudolaric acid B (PAB) and double network hydrogel (DN) was separately assessed by disk diffusion assay, while the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of PAB was determined via broth dilution method. Further validation of the pharmacodynamic characteristics of the composite system (PAB@DN, composed of PAB and DN) was conducted through behavioral assays, HE staining, and dermatitis scoring, with its drug release profile evaluated by mass spectrometry analysis. Based on scratching behavioral analysis and dermatitis scoring, the optimal ratio and concentration of PAB@DN were optimized. ResultsThe S. aureus load in AD lesional tissues was significantly higher than in normal skin ((5.3±0.33)×10⁶ CFU vs. (3.6±0.26)×10⁷ CFU, P<0.001). In the S. aureus mono-infection group, mice exhibited a 6.7-fold increase in scratching frequency compared to the control group. HE staining revealed marked epidermal thickening ((10.4±2.39) μm vs. (85.6±1.95) μm, P<0.000 1), and toluidine blue staining showed a 23-fold increase in mast cell degranulation. Pseudolaric acid B exhibited a significant concentration-dependent inhibitory effect onS. aureus growth, with its in vitro antibacterial effect being 57% that of the antibiotic cefepime (inhibition zone diameter: PAB (1.885±0.036) cm vs. cefepime (3.636±0.005) cm, P<0.000 1) and a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1 g/L. The carrier double network hydrogel (DN) itself lacked direct antibacterial activity (no significant difference in inhibition zone diameter compared to the control) but effectively ameliorated the dry symptoms of AD-like lesions. The PAB@DN composite system demonstrated a synergistic effect compared to individual components, resulting in a 50% reduction in scratching behavior, an 86% decrease in dermatitis score, and a 60% reduction in epidermal thickening. It also reduced the S. aureus load in mouse skin by approximately 34%, with the optimal effective formulation being PAB at 1 g/L loaded onto DN. ConclusionS. aureus colonization plays a critical driving role in the onset and progression of AD. Using an S. aureus infection model, this study confirmed that the pseudolaric acidB-hydrogel composite delivery system (PAB@DN) can effectively alleviate S. aureus-induced pruritus and skin damage, providing experimental evidence for microbiota-targeted therapy of AD.

Objective To characterize the species composition and distribution patterns of ticks in 17 counties and cities of Yunnan Province, thereby furnishing fundamental data for the prediction, prevention, and control of local tick-borne diseases. Methods Tick specimens deposited in Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control and Prevention (YIEDC) collected from 17 counties or cities during 1957-2024 were thoroughly trimmed and morphological identified based on diagnostic characters. Results A total of 2 923 tick specimens were taxonomically identified and classified into 18 species within 6 genera in the Ixodidae family. Specifically, the genus Haemaphysalis comprised 6 species with 154 specimens, the genus Rhipicephalus included 3 species with 2 444 specimens, the genus Ixodes consisted of 4 species with 236 specimens, the genus Amblyomma included 3 species with 49 specimens, the genus Dermacentor contained 1 species with 12 specimens, and the genus Hyalomma included 1 species with 28 specimens. A wide range of host animals were found, including livestock, wild avian species, wild mammalian species, reptiles (including pythons), and humans. Conclusions Ticks were found on a wide array of host animals within the 17 counties and cities of Yunnan Province, demonstrating high host species diversity. Our data suggest a need to strengthen the monitoring of tick-borne diseases and provide health education for the general population in Yunnan Province.

As a sub-discipline of field surgery,trauma surgery of naval warfare focuses on the treatment of marine casualties,which is the extension and application of field surgical theories and techniques in the context of naval warfare.Informatization and 3-dimension have been the basic features of modern naval warfare.With the extensive use of high-tech weapons,maritime combat styles and security needs have undergone profound changes.The complexity and diversity of marine trauma injuries have created new opportunities and challenges for the development of trauma surgery.This paper analyzes the marine trauma under the conditions of modern warfare,the characteristics of marine trauma surgical care,and the medical evacuation system of casualty care in naval battle,aiming to promote the research of naval medical support and the development of field surgery.

Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, is markedly influenced by both immune and inflammatory reactions throughout its progression. Dendritic cells, as pivotal antigen-presenting entities, play a crucial role in the initiation of immune responses and the preservation of immunological homeostasis. Accumulating data indicates that dendritic cells are present in healthy arteries and accumulate significantly in atherosclerotic plaques. Novel immunotherapeutic approaches and vaccination protocols have yielded substantial clinical advancements in managing chronic inflammatory diseases, with dendritic cell-centric modalities emerging for atherosclerotic management. In this review, we delineate the essential functions and underlying mechanisms of dendritic cells and their subsets in the modulation of atherosclerotic inflammation and immune responses. We underscore the immense promise of dendritic cell-based immunotherapeutic strategies, including vaccines and innovative combinations with nanotechnological drug delivery platforms for atherosclerosis treatment. We also discuss the challenges associated with dendritic cell immunotherapy and provide perspectives on the future direction of this field.

Receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) plays an essential role in regulating the necroptosis and apoptosis in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the regulation of RIPK1 kinase activity after cerebral I/R injury remains largely unknown. In this study, we found the downregulation of protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) was induced by cerebral I/R injury, which negatively correlated with the activation of RIPK1. Mechanistically, we proved that PRMT1 directly interacted with RIPK1 and catalyzed its asymmetric dimethylarginine, which then blocked RIPK1 homodimerization and suppressed its kinase activity. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition or genetic ablation of PRMT1 aggravated I/R injury by promoting RIPK1-mediated necroptosis and apoptosis, while PRMT1 overexpression protected against I/R injury by suppressing RIPK1 activation. Our findings revealed the molecular regulation of RIPK1 activation and demonstrated PRMT1 would be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Objective:To explore the therapeutic effect of drug-coated balloon(DCB)combined drug-eluting stent(DES)on coronary bifurcation lesions.Methods:A total of 108 patients with coronary bifurcation lesions admitted in Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital Huangpu Branch,Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine between February 2021 and March 2023 were enrolled in this randomized controlled study.Patients were randomly divided into combined treatment group(n=54,DCB was implanted in the sub-branch,and DES was implanted in the main branch)and DES group(n=54,DES were implanted in both main branch and sub-branch).Clinical therapeutic effect,coronary angiography quantitative parameters before,instant and 9 months after operation and clinical out-comes during 1-year follow-up after operation were compared between two groups.Results:The total effective rate of combined treatment group was significantly higher than that of DES group(96.30％vs.87.04％,P=0.030).Compared to those in DES group,instant and 9 months after operation,patients in the combined treatment group had significant higher diameters of main branch vessel[(3.13±0.31)mm vs.(3.01±0.25)mm,(2.99±0.33)mm vs.(2.84±0.23)mm],sub-branch vessel[(2.51±0.26)mm vs.(2.42±0.13)mm,(2.44±0.24)mm vs.(2.29±0.36)mm],and significant lower main branch stenosis rate[(6.05±0.21)％vs.(6.24±0.31)％,(9.06±0.23)％vs.(10.12±0.12)％]and sub-branch stenosis rate[(7.38±0.42)％vs.(7.63±0.18)％,(8.07±0.39)％vs.(11.25±0.22)％](P＜0.05 or＜0.01).There were no significant difference in incidence of target lesion revascularization,cardiogenic death and major adverse cardiovascular events between two groups(P＞0.05 all).Conclusion:Drug-eluting stent combined drug-coated balloon may promote vascular branch dilation of coro-nary artery lesions,increase the minimum lumen diameter of sub-branch vessels,and reduce the occurrence of ste-nosis in the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesion,which had similar effectiveness and safety with drug-eluting stent technique.

Objective To propose a preventive maintenance strategy of the heating,ventilation and air-conditioning(HVAC)system in pharmacy intravenous admixture services(PIVAS)based on the reliability centered maintenance(RCM)method so as to provide references for PIVAS equipment maintenance.Methods Firstly,a HVAC system RCM review team was formed,and the failure modes and impacts of important functional components of the equipment were analyzed to clarify the consequences of the failure of each functional component under the premise of ensuring the safety and integrity of the equipment and with the goal of minimizing the loss of maintenance downtime and the consumption of maintenance resources.Secondly,with a standardized logical decision-making procedure the preventive maintenance strategy was determined and implemented based on the consequences of functional failure.Finally,statistical analyses were carried out on such equipment indicators as performance parameter qualification rate,failure rate and maintenance cost before and after the RCM method-based strategy was executed,in order to evaluate the efficacy of the strategy.Results The RCM method-based preventive maintenance strategy had the performance qualification rate increased from 97.47%to 99.06%(χ2=24.139,P<0.01),the failure rate decreased from 0.24%to 0.03%(χ2=13.519,P<0.01)and the maintenance cost reduced by 11.5%,from RMB 134,200 to 118,700.Conclusion The RCM method-based preventive maintenance strategy provides reliable equipment for PIVAS and lowers the maintenance cost effectively,and references are given for the development of automated and intelligent equipment maintenance strategies for PIVAS.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(10):78-83]

Objective To propose a preventive maintenance strategy of the heating,ventilation and air-conditioning(HVAC)system in pharmacy intravenous admixture services(PIVAS)based on the reliability centered maintenance(RCM)method so as to provide references for PIVAS equipment maintenance.Methods Firstly,a HVAC system RCM review team was formed,and the failure modes and impacts of important functional components of the equipment were analyzed to clarify the consequences of the failure of each functional component under the premise of ensuring the safety and integrity of the equipment and with the goal of minimizing the loss of maintenance downtime and the consumption of maintenance resources.Secondly,with a standardized logical decision-making procedure the preventive maintenance strategy was determined and implemented based on the consequences of functional failure.Finally,statistical analyses were carried out on such equipment indicators as performance parameter qualification rate,failure rate and maintenance cost before and after the RCM method-based strategy was executed,in order to evaluate the efficacy of the strategy.Results The RCM method-based preventive maintenance strategy had the performance qualification rate increased from 97.47%to 99.06%(χ2=24.139,P<0.01),the failure rate decreased from 0.24%to 0.03%(χ2=13.519,P<0.01)and the maintenance cost reduced by 11.5%,from RMB 134,200 to 118,700.Conclusion The RCM method-based preventive maintenance strategy provides reliable equipment for PIVAS and lowers the maintenance cost effectively,and references are given for the development of automated and intelligent equipment maintenance strategies for PIVAS.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(10):78-83]

Objective To investigate the effects of the ferroptosis inhibitor Ferrostatin-1 on the apoptosis of photore-ceptor cells and the Notch pathway in rats with retinal photochemical damage(RPD).Methods Male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly divided into the Control group(normally fed rats,intraperitoneal injection of an equal volume of saline),RPD group(RPD model rats,intraperitoneal injection of an equal volume of saline),Ferrostatin-1 group(RPD model rats,intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg·kg-1 Ferrostatin-1),and Ferrostatin-1+JFC group[RPD model rats,intrap-eritoneal injection of 5 mg·kg-1 Ferrostatin-1 and 0.5 mg·kg-1 Jagged1/FC chimeric protein(JFC,a Notch pathway acti-vator)],with 15 rats in each group.The retinal histopathology of rats in each group was evaluated via hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining.The apoptosis of photoreceptor cells was detected by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)assay.The expression level of ferrous ions(Fe2+),lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),malondialde-hyde(MDA),glutathione(GSH),and reactive oxygen species(ROS)in retinal tissues was measured using corresponding kits.Western blot was performed to assess the protein expression of transferrin receptor protein 1(TfR1),divalent metal transporter 1(DMT1),nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2),solute carrier family 7 member 11(SLC7A11),recombinant glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4),cleaved Caspase-3,Notch,and hairy and enhancer of split 1(Hes1).Results The thickness of the outer nuclear layer(ONL)in the Control group,RPD group,Ferrostatin-1 group,and Fer-rostatin-1+JFC group was(35.24±1.76)μm,(16.83±1.14)μm,(27.56±1.39)μm,and(21.48±1.23)μm,respec-tively;the apoptosis rate of photoreceptor cells in the four groups was(1.32±0.07)％,(18.57±1.63)％,(9.61±1.04)％,and(15.43±1.38)％,respectively.Compared with the Ferrostatin-1 group,the Ferrostatin-1+JFC group exhib-ited an aggravated retinal damage level,reduced ONL thickness,and increased apoptosis rate,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The expression level of Fe2+,MDA,LDH,and ROS and the relative protein expres-sion level of TfR1,DMT1,cleaved Caspase-3,Notch,and Hes1 in the RPD group were higher than those in the Control group;while the expression level of GSH and the relative protein expression level of Nrf2,SLC7A11,and GPX4 were lower than those in the Control group,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Compared with the RPD group,the Ferrostatin-1 group displayed a decrease in the expression level of Fe2+,MDA,LDH,and ROS and the relative protein expression level of TfR1,DMT1,cleaved Caspase-3,Notch,and Hes1 but an increase in the expression level of GSH and the relative protein expression level of Nrf2,SLC7A11,and GPX4,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The expression level of Fe2+,MDA,LDH,and ROS and the relative protein expression level of TfR1,DMT1,cleaved Caspase-3,Notch,and Hes1 in the Ferrostatin-1+JFC group were higher than those in the Ferrostatin-1 group;while the expression level of GSH and the relative protein expression level of Nrf2,SLC7A11,and GPX4 were lower than those in the Ferrostatin-1 group,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Fer-rostatin-1 may alleviate retinal oxidative stress and the apoptosis of photoreceptor cells in RPD rats by inhibiting the Notch pathway,thereby mitigating retinal damage.

A single-center, randomized, double-blind, dose-controlled trial of modified Sini Powder in treating mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder(GAD) in the patients with syndrome of liver depression transforming into fire was conducted at Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. A total of 80 patients with mild to moderate GAD and the syndrome of liver depression transforming into fire were included. Patients were assigned by the central randomization system at a ratio of 3∶1 into an observation group(n=60, receiving a conventional-dose of granules of modified Sini Powder) and a control group(n=20, receiving low-dose granules with the active ingredients being 50% of that in observation group). Assessments were conducted before treatment(baseline), after 2 weeks of introduction, after 2/4/8 weeks of treatment, and after 4 weeks of follow-up. The results were summarized as follows. In terms of primary outcome indicators, the observation group(62.2%) showed higher total response rate than the control group(26.6%)(P<0.05), and greater Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA) score reduction after 8 weeks of treatment(P<0.05). In terms of secondary outcome indicators, the HAMA score(somatic anxiety score), traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndrome scores, Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI) scale, and clinical global impression(CGI) scale score in the observation group showed a significant compared to the control group at each visit points(P<0.05). Adverse events occurred in 10 cases, including 9(16.9%) cases in the observation group and 1(6.6%) case in the control group. No adverse reaction was observed. In conclusion, conventional-dose modified Sini Powder demonstrated superior efficacy and favorable safety for mild and moderate GAD in the patients with the syndrome of liver depression transforming into fire over low-dose treatment.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Anxiety Disorders/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult ; Powders ; Aged ; Liver/drug effects* ; Generalized Anxiety Disorder