Objective To investigate the effect of astragaloside Ⅳ on high glucose-induced pyroptosis and invasive migration of human chorionic trophoblast cells(HTR-8/SVneo).Methods HTR-8/SVneo cells were divided into 4 groups:control group(untreated),high glucose group(high glucose stimulation)and astragaloside Ⅳ 50 and 100 μmol/L group(high glucose stimulation + astragaloside).Cell activity was detected by Cell Counting Kit 8(CCK-8),cell invasion and migration abilities were determined by Transwell assay and scratch assay,respectively,cell pyroptosis was assessed by Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide(PI)dual fluorescence staining.The protein expression levels of NOD-like receptor thermoprotein structural domain(NLRP3),cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD-NT,and IL-18 were detected by Western Blot.Results Compared with the control group,HTR-8/SVneo cell viability was significantly reduced in the high glucose group,the rate of cell migration was significantly reduced,the number of invasive cells was significantly reduced,the percentage of PI-positive cells was significantly increased,and the levels of NLRP3,cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD-NT and IL-18 protein expression levels were significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01);compared with the high glucose group,cell viability was significantly higher in the astragaloside Ⅳ treated group,the rate of cell migration was significantly increased,the number of invasive cells was significantly increased,the percentage of PI-positive cells was significantly decreased,and the protein expressions of number of NLRP3,cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD-NT,IL-18 were significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Conclusion AstragalosideⅣcan inhibit high glucose-induced HTR-8/SVneo cell pyrolysis and improve cell invasion and migration ability.

Background::Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a severe and acute cardiovascular syndrome with high mortality among patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRDs). Accurate prediction and timely intervention play a pivotal role in enhancing survival rates. However, there is a notable scarcity of practical early prediction and risk assessment systems of PE in patients with AIIRD.Methods::In the training cohort, 60 AIIRD with PE cases and 180 age-, gender-, and disease-matched AIIRD non-PE cases were identified from 7254 AIIRD cases in Tongji Hospital from 2014 to 2022. Univariable logistic regression (LR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to select the clinical features for further training with machine learning (ML) methods, including random forest (RF), support vector machines (SVM), neural network (NN), logistic regression (LR), gradient boosted decision tree (GBDT), classification and regression trees (CART), and C5.0 models. The performances of these models were subsequently validated using a multicenter validation cohort.Results::In the training cohort, 24 and 13 clinical features were selected by univariable LR and LASSO strategies, respectively. The five ML models (RF, SVM, NN, LR, and GBDT) showed promising performances, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.962-1.000 in the training cohort and 0.969-0.999 in the validation cohort. CART and C5.0 models achieved AUCs of 0.850 and 0.932, respectively, in the training cohort. Using D-dimer as a pre-screening index, the refined C5.0 model achieved an AUC exceeding 0.948 in the training cohort and an AUC above 0.925 in the validation cohort. These results markedly outperformed the use of D-dimer levels alone.Conclusion::ML-based models are proven to be precise for predicting the onset of PE in patients with AIIRD exhibiting clinical suspicion of PE.Trial Registration::Chictr.org.cn: ChiCTR2200059599.

Objective To explore the application value of pathogen-targeted next-generation sequencing(tNGS)technology in patients with suspected pulmonary infections.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 80 patients with suspected pulmonary infections admitted to the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the Third People's Hospital of Hubei Province from January 2021 to July 2023.All patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)tNGS and conventional pathogen detection.Demographic characteristics of the patients were analyzed,and the distribution of pathogens detected by tNGS and conventional methods were compared.The clinical data of patients diagnosed with single pulmonary infections and those with mixed infections were also compared.Results Among the 80 patients,74 were diagnosed with infections.Most of the infected patients had underlying conditions,mainly chronic heart disease(42.5%),chronic respiratory disease(35%),and diabetes(20%).The tNGS test results led to changes in treatment strategy for 35 patients(43.8%).A total of 45 types of pathogens were detected,with 169 strains identified by tNGS and 63 strains by conventional methods.Within pathogens detected by both methods,bacteria were detected the most.The order of pathogen types detected by tNGS was bacteria>viruses>fungi>atypical pathogens>Mycobacterium tuberculosis.The order of pathogen types detected by conventional methods was fungi>viruses>bacteria>atypical pathogens>Mycobacterium tuberculosis.The consistency between the two pathogen detection methods was poor(kappa value 0.172,P=0.020).The number of positive cases and the positive detection rates for bacteria,viruses,and atypical pathogens detected by tNGS were significantly higher than those of conventional methods(P<0.05),but there was no statistically significant difference in the positive detection rates for fungi and Mycobacterium tuberculosis between the two methods(P>0.05).Using clinical diagnosis as the gold standard,the sensitivity of tNGS detection was significantly higher than that of conventional methods(P=0.026),while there was no statistically significant difference in specificity between the two methods(P>0.05).Among the 74 confirmed pulmonary infection cases,6 had no clear pathogen,23 had single infections,and 45 had mixed infections.Among the mixed infections,the most common combination was bacterial-viral mixed infections(12/45,26.7%).The mortality rate and hospitalization duration of patients with mixed infections were significantly higher than those with single infections(P<0.05);there were no statistically significant differences in gender,age,underlying conditions,white blood cell count,and neutrophil percentage between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusions tNGS technology has higher pathogen detection sensitivity compared to conventional methods,especially for bacteria,viruses,atypical pathogens,and rare pathogens.This technology is beneficial for identifying mixed infections and can serve as a supplement to conventional pathogen detection methods in clinical practice.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

OBJECTIVE: Here, we explored molecular changes that could potentially mediate healing effects of Gua Sha - a method employed by the Chinese traditional medicine with proven track records of safe and efficient applications dating back to ancient times as well as support from randomized controlled trials performed by modern medical studies - yet remaining almost entirely unexplored by the modern-day high-throughput methods of the -omics sciences. METHODS: We investigated transcriptome changes occurring shortly after Gua Sha treatment in the whole blood of healthy volunteers using bulk RNA-seq analysis. We applied various analytical tools to identify genes with consistent expression changes in multiple individuals in response to Gua Sha and their networks. RESULTS: We found that while the changes were very subtle and individual-specific, we could identify consistent upregulation of three histone genes. Further analysis of the potential regulatory networks of these histone genes revealed the enrichment of functions involved in the immune response and inflammation. CONCLUSION The significance of these results in the context of potential effects of Gua Sha and the next steps in exploring the molecular mechanisms of action of this technique are discussed.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Histones ; Gene Expression

OBJECTIVE: The study explores the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at the governing vessel (GV) on proteomic changes in the hippocampus of rats with cognitive impairment. METHODS: Healthy male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham, model and EA. Cognitive impairment was induced by left middle cerebral artery occlusion in the model and EA groups. Rats in the EA group were treated with EA at Shenting (GV24) and Baihui (GV20) for 7 d. Neurological deficit was scored using the Longa scale, the learning and memory ability was detected using the Morris water maze (MWM) test, and the proteomic profiling in the hippocampus was analyzed using protein-labeling technology based on the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ). The Western blot (WB) analysis was used to detect the proteins and validate the results of iTRAQ. RESULTS: Compared with the model group, the neurological deficit score was significantly reduced, and the escape latency in the MWM test was significantly shortened, while the number of platform crossings increased in the EA group. A total of 2872 proteins were identified by iTRAQ. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified between different groups: 92 proteins were upregulated and 103 were downregulated in the model group compared with the sham group, while 142 proteins were upregulated and 126 were downregulated in the EA group compared with the model group. Most of the DEPs were involved in oxidative phosphorylation, glycolipid metabolism and synaptic transmission. Furthermore, we also verified 4 DEPs using WB technology. Although the WB results were not exactly the same as the iTRAQ results, the expression trends of the DEPs were consistent. The upregulation of heat-shock protein β1 (Hspb1) was the highest in the EA group compared to the model group. CONCLUSION EA can effect proteomic changes in the hippocampus of rats with cognitive impairment. Hspb1 may be involved in the molecular mechanism by which acupuncture improves cognitive impairment.
Rats ; Male ; Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Electroacupuncture ; Proteomics ; Cognitive Dysfunction/therapy* ; Hippocampus

Objective:To reveal the research hotspos and the dynamic frontier in feeding intolerance in critically ill patients.Method:We took feeding intolerance and critical illness as the theme, the CNKI and WOS core database as the research object, and used CiteSpace software as research tool, to conduct a visual atlas analysis on the research status and hotspos evolution at home and abroad. Results:There were totally 2 426 feeding intolerance related papers published, and quantity of publications increased year by year. Australia and some European and American countries are in a leading position. The institutions in the lead regarding scientific research level were Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide University, Louisville University, Repatriation General Hospital and Queens University. The researches mainly focused on the investigation of mechanism, symptom evaluation, and management of feeding intolerance .Conclusion:The feeding of critically ill patients has attracted more and more attention. In the future, we should further carry out high-quality and large-scale empirical research, explore new technologies and big data, and develop evidence-based prevention and management strategies for feeding intolerance.

The child was a 9-year-old girl, and sought medical advice due to "proteinuria for over a month". Renal biopsy result showed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with diffuse vacuolization of glomerular podocytes and tubular epithelial cells. The child was diagnosed as type Ⅱ sialidosis with a compound heterozygote mutation in neuraminidase 1 gene for c.239C>T(p.Pro80Leu), c.220G>C(p.Val74Leu) and c.205A>G(p.Arg69Gly). Her father was proved to carry the first mutation, and her mother carried the other two, respectively. The report aims to improve the clinician's understanding of the rare disease. Early diagnosis can help avoid overuse of immunosuppressants, guide treatment reasonably and improve prognosis.

Humans ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck ; RNA, Messenger ; Immunohistochemistry ; Papillomavirus Infections/diagnosis* ; Oncogene Proteins, Viral/genetics* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 ; Papillomaviridae ; Papillomavirus E7 Proteins/genetics* ; DNA, Viral