ObjectiveTo investigate the migration and distribution characteristics of chemical constituents in blood and hippocampal tissues before and after vinegar processing of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride（CRPV）， and to explore the potential material basis and mechanisms underlying their regulatory effects on emotional disorders by comparing the effects of raw and vinegar-processed products of CRPV. MethodsUltra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS） was employed to characterize and identify the chemical constituents of raw and vinegar-processed products of CRPV extracts， as well as their migrating components in blood and hippocampal tissues after oral administration. Reference standards， databases， and relevant literature were utilized for compound annotation， with data processing performed using PeakView 1.2 software. Seventy male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into seven groups， including the blank group， model group， diazepam group（2.5 mg·kg^-1）， raw CRPV low/high dose groups（0.6， 1.2 g·kg^-1）， and vinegar-processed CRPV low/high dose groups（0.6， 1.2 g·kg^-1）， with 10 mice per group. Except for the blank group， all other groups underwent chronic restraint stress（2 h·d^-1） for 20 d. Each drug-treated group received oral administration at the predetermined dose starting 10 d after modeling， with a total treatment duration of 10 d. Following model-based drug administration， mice underwent open-field， forced swimming， and elevated plus maze tests. After anesthesia with isoflurane， whole brains were collected from each group of mice， and hippocampi were dissected. Reactive oxygen species（ROS） level in hippocampal tissues was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe hippocampal tissue morphology. Immunofluorescence was performed to detect neuronal nuclei（NeuN） and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha（PPARα） expressions in hippocampal tissue. Then， pharmacodynamic evaluations were conducted to assess the effects of raw and vinegar-processed CRPV on mood disorders， exploring the potential mechanisms. ResultsVinegar processing caused significant changes in the chemical composition of CRPV， with 18 components showing increased relative content and 35 components showing decreased relative content. The primary changes occurred in flavonoid compounds， including 20 flavonoids， 20 flavonoid glycosides， 3 triterpenes， 3 phenolic acids， 1 alkaloid， and 6 other compounds. Twenty-one components were detected in blood（15 methoxyflavones， 4 flavonoid glycosides， and 2 phenolic acids）， with 17 shared between raw and vinegar-processed CRPV. Seven components reached hippocampal tissues（all common to both forms）. In regulating emotional disorders， Vinegar-processed CRPV exhibited superior antidepressant-like effects compared to raw products. HE staining revealed that both treatments improved hippocampal neuronal morphology， particularly in the damaged CA1 and CA3 regions. Immunofluorescence and ELISA analyses demonstrated that both raw and vinegar-processed CRPV significantly modulated NeuN and PPARα expressions in hippocampal tissue while alleviating oxidative stress induced by excessive ROS（P<0.05）. ConclusionThe chemical composition of CRPV undergoes changes after vinegar processing， but the migrating components in blood and hippocampus are primarily methoxyflavonoids. These components may serve as the potential material basis for activating the PPARα pathway， thereby negatively regulating ROS generation in the hippocampus， reducing oxidative stress， and promoting the development of NeuN-positive neurons. These findings provide experimental evidence for enhancing quality standards， pharmacodynamic material research， and active drug development of raw and vinegar-processed CRPV.

Objective:To evaluate the impact of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) on the prognosis of patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in the era of widespread application of MRI.Methods:Clinical data were collected from an open-lable prospective clinical trial on thoracic radiotherapy target volumes for limited-stage SCLC conducted in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and Zhejiang Cancer Hospital between June 2002 and January 2017. In this study, patients who achieved complete remission (CR) or partial remission (PR) after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) were retrospectively analyzed. Stratified analysis was performed according to different clinical efficacies. Patients were divided into different groups according to whether PCI was conducted or not. Survival analysis of patients was carried out. Survival data were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox proportional hazards model was applied for multivariate prognostic analysis.Results:Among 309 patients with limited-stage SCLC who received CRT, 133 patients achieved CR and 140 cases obtained PR. These 273 patients were enrolled in this study. Among 133 patients with CR, 29 of them did not receive PCI, and 89 (85.6%) of the remaining 104 patients receiving PCI underwent brain MRI to exclude brain metastasis (BM) before PCI. With a median follow-up time of 22.1 months, the cumulative BM rates were 18.3% and 37.9% in patients who received or did not receive PCI ( P=0.020). The median overall survival (OS) was 30.2 and 30.5 months, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 93.3%, 41.9%, 27.7% and 82.8%, 44.8%, 40.8%, respectively ( P=0.910). Multivariate analysis indicated that baseline Karnofsky performance status (KPS) = 90 was a favorable independent prognostic factor for OS in CR patients ( HR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.98, P=0.006). Among 140 patients achieving PR, 52 cases did not receive PCI and 80 (90.9%) of the remaining 88 patients received brain MRI before PCI. With a median follow-up time of 18.9 months, the cumulative BM rates were 10.2% and 44.2% ( P<0.001). The median OS was 26.0 and 18.0 months, and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 86.4%, 37.9%, 32.2% and 75.0%, 17.3%, 10.8%, respectively ( P=0.001). Baseline KPS = 90 ( HR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.97, P=0.001) and PCI ( HR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.36-0.80, P=0.002) were favorable prognostic factors for OS in PR patients. Conclusions:PCI significantly reduces the incidence of BM and prolongs the OS in patients with limited-stage SCLC who achieve PR after CRT, but it fails to significantly prolong the OS of CR patients.

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1(APE 1)is a multifunctional protein that plays important roles in DNA repair and regulation of gene expression.Because APE 1 is overexpressed in various cancers,it can serve as a cancer biomarker for aiding clinical diagnosis,guiding therapy,and monitoring prognosis.On this basis,a label-free fluorescent probe was designed based on the primer exchange reaction(PER)strategy for highly sensitive detection of APE 1 activity.In the absence of APE 1,the structure of catalytic hairpin(HP)was stable and could not form G-quadruplex.Therefore,the background fluorescence of this sensing system was very low due to the dissociation of thioflavin T(ThT).In the presence of APE 1,the apurinic/apyrimidinic(AP)site of HP was cleaved by APE 1 and a short nucleic acid fragment that acted as a primer to initiate PER was generated.After PER reaction,a large number of G-quadruplex were produced,which could specifically bind with ThT and resulted in significant increase of fluorescence signal.The combination of low background design of HP and PER amplification made this biosensor had high sensitivity with a detection limit(3σ)of 0.0008 U/mL.Furthermore,the primer sequence was directly generated by the cleavage of APE 1 without additional addition,which not only increased the specificity of the reaction,but also simplified the experiment procedure.Moreover,the use of label-free fluorescence signal reduced the cost of the experiment,and realized rapid detection of APE 1.Finally,this sensor was used to detect APE 1 in human serum samples with spiked recoveries of 91%-104%,proving great potential in study of biological enzyme.

Acute lung injury(ALI) is a critical clinical condition primarily characterized by refractory hypoxemia and infiltration of inflammatory cells in lung tissue, which can progress into a more severe form known as acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS). Immune cells and inflammatory cytokines play important roles in the progression of the disease. Due to its unclear pathogenesis and the lack of effective clinical treatments, ALI is associated with a high mortality rate and severely affects patients' quality of life, making the search for effective therapeutic agents particularly urgent. Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, the dried root of the perennial herb Panax ginseng from the Araliaceae family, contains active ingredients such as saponins and polysaccharides, which possess various pharmacological effects including anti-tumor activity, immune regulation, and metabolic modulation. In recent years, studies have shown that ginsenosides exhibit notable effects in reducing inflammation, ameliorating epithelial and endothelial cell injury, and providing anticoagulant action, indicating their comprehensive role in alleviating lung injury. This review summarizes the pathogenesis of ALI and the molecular mechanisms through which ginsenosides act at different stages of ALI development. The aim is to provide a scientific reference for the development of ginsenoside-based drugs targeting ALI, as well as a theoretical basis for the clinical application of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma in the treatment of ALI.
Ginsenosides/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Acute Lung Injury/immunology* ; Animals ; Panax/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

OBJECTIVES: To identify potential plasma lipidomic biomarkers that distinguish non-metastatic medulloblastoma (nmMB) from metastatic medulloblastoma (mMB) in children. METHODS: In this prospective study, 17 children with mMB and 20 matched children with nmMB were enrolled. Plasma samples were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Lipid metabolites were evaluated for their associations and diagnostic performance. RESULTS: Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis based on lipid profiles clearly separated nmMB from mMB, and 14 differential lipids were identified, including DG(18:2/20:4/0:0) and SM(d18:1/20:0). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed nine metabolites with area under the curve greater than 0.7. Differential lipids were enriched in sphingolipid, glycerophospholipid, and arachidonic acid metabolism, suggesting an association with the metastatic phenotype. CONCLUSIONS Plasma lipidomics provides a new approach to identify mMB, and the identified lipid metabolites may support early diagnosis and treatment, prognostic assessment, and selection of therapeutic targets for metastatic medulloblastoma.
Humans ; Medulloblastoma/diagnosis* ; Lipidomics ; Child ; Male ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Cerebellar Neoplasms/blood* ; Biomarkers, Tumor/blood* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prospective Studies ; Adolescent ; Lipids/blood*

Objective:To investigate variation of peripheral blood monocyte subtypes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA),to study variation of surface antigen expression intensity and plasma related cytokine content of monocytes of each subtype,and to discuss their clinical application value.Methods:Percentage of monocyte subtypes and mean fluorescence intensity(MFI)of monocyte surface markers(HLA-DR,CD64,CD11b)in peripheral blood of 38 patients with RA were detected by multi-parameter flow cytometry,and differences were statistically analyzed compared with 40 healthy controls(HV group).Plasma levels of five cyto-kines(IL-2,IL-6,IL-10,TNF-α and IFN-γ)were detected by flow fluorescence microsphere technology.Linear correlation analysis was performed to determine correlation between percentage of monocyte subtypes and MFI of their surface markers and expression of related cytokines in RA patients.Disease activity 28(DAS28)score was performed in RA patients to study its association with percent-age of monocyte subtypes and plasma cytokines.Results:Compared with control group,percentage of classical monocytes in RA pa-tients decreased significantly(P<0.05),while percentage of intermediate monocytes and non-classical monocytes increased signifi-cantly(P<0.01).HLA-DR expression(MFI)on monocyte subsets in RA group was significantly higher than HV group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).CD64 expression(MFI)on intermediate monocytes and non-classical monocytes in RA group was significantly higher than HV group(P<0.01 or P<0.001).CD11b expression(MFI)on intermediate monocytes in RA group was significantly higher than HV group(P<0.001).In RA group,percentage of intermediate monocytes was positively correlated with contents of IL-6,TNF-α and IFN-γ(P<0.01).HLA-DR expression(MFI)on intermediate monocytes was positively correlated with TNF-α content(P<0.05);CD64 expres-sion(MFI)on non-classical monocytes was positively correlated with contents of IL-2 and IL-10(P<0.05).In RA group,percentage of intermediate monocytes was positively correlated with DAS28(P<0.001);plasma IL-6 and TNF-α levels were positively correlated with DAS28(P<0.01).Conclusion:Characteristic expression of intermediate monocytes and their surface antigens are closely related to occurrence of RA,and related inflammation is triggered by secretion of related cytokines.Monocyte subtype detection can be a new experimental diagnostic index for RA.Dynamic monitoring of peripheral blood monocyte subtypes and plasma IL-6 and TNF-α in RA patients during treatment is helpful to guide clinical treatment of RA.

Objective:To explore the application value of problem-based learning (PBL) combined with mini-clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX) in the development of post competency for interns in the Department of Neurology.Methods:A total of 56 interns rotating at the Department of Neurology of The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from June 2023 to January 2024 were enrolled as the study subjects. They were randomly divided into a control group and an experiment group using the random number table method, with 28 interns in each group. The control group received traditional methods including small lectures and teaching rounds, while the experimental group received the PBL teaching method combined with Mini-CEX. The teaching effectiveness was evaluated through theoretical assessments, practical skill evaluations, teacher and student satisfaction surveys, and Mini-CEX scale assessments conducted at the beginning, middle, and end of the rotation for the experimental group. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software. For continuous data, the independent-samples t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison between groups. The chi-square test was used for categorical data and the Kruskal-Wallis H test for repeated-measurement data. Results:The theoretical scores [(45.36±2.67) vs. (42.00±4.29), P<0.01] and practical skill scores [(45.11±2.53) vs. (42.39±4.53), P<0.01] were significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group. The Mini-CEX score of the experimental group at the end of the rotation was notably higher than that at the beginning of rotation ( P<0.05), and their abilities improved continuously. The satisfaction rates of teachers and students in the experimental group were 71.43% (20/28) and 67.86% (19/28), respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group [39.29% (11/28) and 35.71% (10/28), P<0.05]. Conclusions:The teaching model integrating PBL and Mini-CEX can effectively enhance the post competency of interns in the Department of Neurology, thus offering a new perspective for clinical undergraduate teaching.

Objective:To investigate variation of peripheral blood monocyte subtypes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA),to study variation of surface antigen expression intensity and plasma related cytokine content of monocytes of each subtype,and to discuss their clinical application value.Methods:Percentage of monocyte subtypes and mean fluorescence intensity(MFI)of monocyte surface markers(HLA-DR,CD64,CD11b)in peripheral blood of 38 patients with RA were detected by multi-parameter flow cytometry,and differences were statistically analyzed compared with 40 healthy controls(HV group).Plasma levels of five cyto-kines(IL-2,IL-6,IL-10,TNF-α and IFN-γ)were detected by flow fluorescence microsphere technology.Linear correlation analysis was performed to determine correlation between percentage of monocyte subtypes and MFI of their surface markers and expression of related cytokines in RA patients.Disease activity 28(DAS28)score was performed in RA patients to study its association with percent-age of monocyte subtypes and plasma cytokines.Results:Compared with control group,percentage of classical monocytes in RA pa-tients decreased significantly(P<0.05),while percentage of intermediate monocytes and non-classical monocytes increased signifi-cantly(P<0.01).HLA-DR expression(MFI)on monocyte subsets in RA group was significantly higher than HV group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).CD64 expression(MFI)on intermediate monocytes and non-classical monocytes in RA group was significantly higher than HV group(P<0.01 or P<0.001).CD11b expression(MFI)on intermediate monocytes in RA group was significantly higher than HV group(P<0.001).In RA group,percentage of intermediate monocytes was positively correlated with contents of IL-6,TNF-α and IFN-γ(P<0.01).HLA-DR expression(MFI)on intermediate monocytes was positively correlated with TNF-α content(P<0.05);CD64 expres-sion(MFI)on non-classical monocytes was positively correlated with contents of IL-2 and IL-10(P<0.05).In RA group,percentage of intermediate monocytes was positively correlated with DAS28(P<0.001);plasma IL-6 and TNF-α levels were positively correlated with DAS28(P<0.01).Conclusion:Characteristic expression of intermediate monocytes and their surface antigens are closely related to occurrence of RA,and related inflammation is triggered by secretion of related cytokines.Monocyte subtype detection can be a new experimental diagnostic index for RA.Dynamic monitoring of peripheral blood monocyte subtypes and plasma IL-6 and TNF-α in RA patients during treatment is helpful to guide clinical treatment of RA.

Objective:To explore the application value of problem-based learning (PBL) combined with mini-clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX) in the development of post competency for interns in the Department of Neurology.Methods:A total of 56 interns rotating at the Department of Neurology of The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from June 2023 to January 2024 were enrolled as the study subjects. They were randomly divided into a control group and an experiment group using the random number table method, with 28 interns in each group. The control group received traditional methods including small lectures and teaching rounds, while the experimental group received the PBL teaching method combined with Mini-CEX. The teaching effectiveness was evaluated through theoretical assessments, practical skill evaluations, teacher and student satisfaction surveys, and Mini-CEX scale assessments conducted at the beginning, middle, and end of the rotation for the experimental group. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software. For continuous data, the independent-samples t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison between groups. The chi-square test was used for categorical data and the Kruskal-Wallis H test for repeated-measurement data. Results:The theoretical scores [(45.36±2.67) vs. (42.00±4.29), P<0.01] and practical skill scores [(45.11±2.53) vs. (42.39±4.53), P<0.01] were significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group. The Mini-CEX score of the experimental group at the end of the rotation was notably higher than that at the beginning of rotation ( P<0.05), and their abilities improved continuously. The satisfaction rates of teachers and students in the experimental group were 71.43% (20/28) and 67.86% (19/28), respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group [39.29% (11/28) and 35.71% (10/28), P<0.05]. Conclusions:The teaching model integrating PBL and Mini-CEX can effectively enhance the post competency of interns in the Department of Neurology, thus offering a new perspective for clinical undergraduate teaching.

Objective:To evaluate the impact of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) on the prognosis of patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in the era of widespread application of MRI.Methods:Clinical data were collected from an open-lable prospective clinical trial on thoracic radiotherapy target volumes for limited-stage SCLC conducted in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and Zhejiang Cancer Hospital between June 2002 and January 2017. In this study, patients who achieved complete remission (CR) or partial remission (PR) after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) were retrospectively analyzed. Stratified analysis was performed according to different clinical efficacies. Patients were divided into different groups according to whether PCI was conducted or not. Survival analysis of patients was carried out. Survival data were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox proportional hazards model was applied for multivariate prognostic analysis.Results:Among 309 patients with limited-stage SCLC who received CRT, 133 patients achieved CR and 140 cases obtained PR. These 273 patients were enrolled in this study. Among 133 patients with CR, 29 of them did not receive PCI, and 89 (85.6%) of the remaining 104 patients receiving PCI underwent brain MRI to exclude brain metastasis (BM) before PCI. With a median follow-up time of 22.1 months, the cumulative BM rates were 18.3% and 37.9% in patients who received or did not receive PCI ( P=0.020). The median overall survival (OS) was 30.2 and 30.5 months, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 93.3%, 41.9%, 27.7% and 82.8%, 44.8%, 40.8%, respectively ( P=0.910). Multivariate analysis indicated that baseline Karnofsky performance status (KPS) = 90 was a favorable independent prognostic factor for OS in CR patients ( HR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.98, P=0.006). Among 140 patients achieving PR, 52 cases did not receive PCI and 80 (90.9%) of the remaining 88 patients received brain MRI before PCI. With a median follow-up time of 18.9 months, the cumulative BM rates were 10.2% and 44.2% ( P<0.001). The median OS was 26.0 and 18.0 months, and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 86.4%, 37.9%, 32.2% and 75.0%, 17.3%, 10.8%, respectively ( P=0.001). Baseline KPS = 90 ( HR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.97, P=0.001) and PCI ( HR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.36-0.80, P=0.002) were favorable prognostic factors for OS in PR patients. Conclusions:PCI significantly reduces the incidence of BM and prolongs the OS in patients with limited-stage SCLC who achieve PR after CRT, but it fails to significantly prolong the OS of CR patients.