Background At present, the treatment of silicosis is still limited, and no method is available to cure the disease. miRNAs are involved in the process of fibrosis at the transcriptional level by directly degrading target gene mRNA or inhibiting its translation. However, how miR-130a-3p regulates silicosis fibrosis has not been fully elucidated yet. Objective To investigate whether miR-130a-3p promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by inhibiting peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors gamma (PPAR-γ), thereby pro-moting the process of silicotic fibrosis. To identify effective new targets for the treatment of silicotic fibrosis. Methods (1) Animal experiments: C57BL/6J mice were intratracheally injected with a one-time dose of 10 mg silica suspension (dissolved in 100 μL saline) as positive lung exposure. A silicosis model group was established 28 d after the exposure. A control group was injected with the same amount of normal saline into the trachea. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and Sirius red staining were used to observe the pathological changes and collagen deposition in lung tissues respectively. Realtime fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to assay the expression of miR-130a-3p and PPAR-γ mRNA in lung tissues. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of PPAR-γ, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, E-cadherin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and Collagen Ⅰ in lung tissues. (2) Cells experiments: Mouse lung epithelial cells (MLE-12) were induced with 5 µg·L⁻¹ TGF-β1 for different time (0, 12, 24, 48 h). RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-130a-3p and PPAR-γ mRNA in cells. The binding relationship between miR-130a-3p and PPAR-γ mRNA was verified by dual luciferase reporter gene assay. MLE-12 cells were stimulated by 5 µg·L⁻¹ TGF-β1 after transfection of miR-130a-3p inhibitor, and Western blotting was used to measure the protein expression of PPAR-γ, E-cadherin, and α-SMA in the TGF-β1-induced cells. Results In the silicosis model group, the alveolar septum was widened and the pulmonary nodules were formed. The Sirius red staining collagen deposition in pulmonary nodules indicated that a silicosis fibrosis model was successfully established. The expressions of TGF-β1, α-SMA, and Collagen Ⅰ proteins were increased, and the expressions of E-cadherin and PPAR-γ proteins were decreased in lung tissues of the silicosis group, compared with the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The expression of miR-130a-3p was increased and the expression of PPAR-γ mRNA was decreased in lung tissues of the silicosis model (P<0.01). The expression of miR-130a-3p was significantly increased, while the expression of PPAR-γ mRNA was decreased in the TGF-β1 induced MLE-12 cells (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The dual luciferase reporter assay showed a direct relationship between miR-130a-3p and PPAR-γ mRNA in MLE-12 cells. The transfection of miR-130a-3p inhibitor in the TGF-β1 induced MLE-12 cells inhibited the decrease of PPAR-γ and E-cadherin proteins, and the increase of α-SMA protein in the MLE-12 cells induced by TGF-β1 (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion miR-130a-3p promotes the development of silicosis fibrosis by targeting PPAR-γ to increase pulmonary EMT.

Water resources are crucial for environmental protection and the health of humans, plants, and animals. Contamination of water by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa can lead to outbreaks of various water-related infectious diseases, posing serious threats to public health and causing significant economic and social losses. Therefore, accurate and timely detection of pathogens in water sources and related substances is vital for preventing water-borne infectious diseases. In recent years, various molecular techniques have been extensively used to address water quality issues, including emerging isothermal amplification techniques such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), and helicase-dependent amplification (HDA). These techniques have significantly enhanced the capacity to detect and monitor pathogens in diverse aquatic systems and wastewater. This review focused on commonly used isothermal amplification techniques in water quality assessment and their recent advancements in environmental pathogens detection.

Prevention and treatment of complications after liver transplantation play a significant role in maintaining liver graft function and improving clinical prognosis of the recipients. Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) are fibrous net-like structures composed of DNA as the skeleton and histones and granular proteins released by activated neutrophils. Studies have shown that the activation of neutrophils and the release of NET in donor liver after liver transplantation are involved in the incidence of multiple liver transplantation-related complications including ischemia-reperfusion injury, acute rejection, acute liver failure and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma, etc. In this article, the effect of NET on the complications after liver transplantation was mainly assessed, and research progress on NET as a potential target for the prevention and treatment of complications after liver transplantation was reviewed, aiming to provide reference for the prevention and treatment of complications after liver transplantation, enhance clinical efficacy of liver transplantation and improve clinical prognosis of the recipients.

Objective To explore the potential mechanism of Erchen decoction in the treatment of obese polycystic ovary syndrome and obese infertility, in order to provide theoretical basis for “treating different diseases with same method”. Methods The active ingredients and targets of Erchen decoction were obtained from TCMSP database, and the targets of obese polycystic ovary syndromes and obese infertility were obtained from GeneCard database. Active ingredient-target network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.1, and protein-protein interaction network and core target were obtained from STRING. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed by Cytoscape 3.7.1 and online software. Results 125 ingredients and 218 targets of Erchen decoction were obtained. There were 2 783 target genes for obese infertility and 2 962 target genes for obese polycystic ovary syndrome. Erchen decoction has a total of 117 target genes in the treatment of obese infertility and obese polycystic ovary syndromes, which proves the principle of “treating different diseases with same method”. Potential active ingredients include quercetin, kaempferol, naringin, baicalin and formononetin. PPI showed that STAT3, JUN, AKT1, MAPK3, MAPK1, MAPK14, IL-6 and FOS were the core targets of “treating different diseases with same method”. Molecular docking results showed that quercetin, kaempferol, etc. had good binding ability with JUN. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway and endocrine resistance might be the key pathways for the “treating different diseases with same method” of Erchen decoction. Conclusion Erchen decoction treating "different diseases with same method" involves same targets and same pathways, which can provide reference for future experimental research.

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of the Trabectome for Chinese glaucoma patients.

MethodsThis was a multicenter, retrospective, observational study. Glaucoma patients, except those with neovascular glaucoma, with/without a visually significant cataract were enrolled. The patients received Trabectome or a combined surgery with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation. The primary outcome evaluation was a reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP), and the secondary outcomes were a reduction in glaucoma medication, the 2-year success percentages, and complications. Success was defined as an IOP <21 mmHg and at least a 20% IOP reduction from baseline after 3 months for any two consecutive visits, without additional glaucoma surgery. The data were processed using the R Stats Package version 3.0.0. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare the postoperative IOP and the number of glaucoma medications with baselines. The Kaplan-Meier test was used to calculate the 2-year success percentage. The risk factors related to Trabectome failure were determined by logistic regression.

ResultsA total of 120 glaucoma patients were enrolled. The Trabectome efficiently reduced the IOP from a baseline of 22.8 ± 1.34 mmHg to 17.6 ± 0.96 mmHg, and the use of glaucoma medications from 2.2 ± 0.17 mmHg to 1.4 ± 0.21 in a 2-year follow-up (both, P < 0.01). The overall success percentage was 80%. No risk factor related to Trabectome failure was identified. No vision-threatening complication was observed. Ten patients, who required secondary glaucoma surgery, all reached the target IOP.

ConclusionsIn a 2-year follow-up, Trabectome was an efficient and safe procedure for Chinese glaucoma patients.

With the growth of number of Chinese patent medicines and clinical use, the rational use of Chinese medicine is becoming more and more serious. Due to the complexity of Chinese medicine theory and the uncertainty of clinical application, the prescription review of Chinese patent medicine always relied on experience in their respective, leading to the uncontrolled of clinical rational use. According to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory and characteristics of the unique clinical therapeutics, based on the practice experience and expertise comments, our paper formed the expert consensus on the prescription review of Chinese traditional patent medicine for promoting the rational use of drugs in Beijing. The objective, methods and key points of prescription review of Chinese patent medicine, were included in this expert consensus, in order to regulate the behavior of prescription and promote rational drug use.

Lactic acid bacteria and cellulose degrading bacteria play an important role in fermentation process of silage, because they can prevent the rancidity and increase the nutritive value of silage. But the propagation of lactic acid bacteria will inhibit the activity of cellulose degrading bacteria in the silage fermentation system. This problem can be solved by releasing lactic acid bacteria and cellulose degrading bacteria in different time. Therefore, we immobilized lactic acid bacteria as a microbial agent for sustained release. Firstly, the optimal balling concentration of the composite immobilized carrier and composite immobilized carrier were obtained by immobilization of blank balls and corncob adsorbed Lactobacillus plantarum S1 respectively. The best immobilization condition of L. plantarum S1 was obtained by comparing the immobilized rate and balling effect of two kinds of balls, which were embedded by sodium alginate (SA), CMC-Na and embedded-crosslinked by SA, CMC-Na, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The results showed that the best balling concentration was achieved by using 6% PVA+0.4% SA+0.3% CMC-Na for embedding-crosslinking and 1.2% SA+0.5% CMC-Na for direct embedding respectively. In addition, comparing with the mechanical strength and embedding rate of five kinds of immobilization process, the best immobilized process was obtained by adding of the mixture of immobilized carriers (1.2%SA+ 0.5%CMC-Na) and corncob adsorbed L. plantarum S1 slowly into 4% CaCl₂ for 24 hours. The corncob adsorption and SA embedding methodology can effectively increase the embedding efficiency of Lactobacillus plantarum S1.

Herb-induced liver injury (HILI) is a type of adverse drug reactions related to using Chinese medicine (CM) or herbal medicine (HM), and is now a growing segment of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) worldwide. Owing to the complicated compositions and miscellaneous risk factors associated with the clinical usage of CM or HM, it is more challenging to diagnose and manage HILI than DILI. In the present guideline issued by the China Association of Chinese Medicine (CACM), the authors present an evidence chain-based workflow with 9 structured judgment criteria for diagnosing HILI. The 3 diagnostic ending points-suspected diagnosis, clinical diagnosis, and confirmed diagnosis-could be reached according to the length of the evidence chain acquired in the structured diagnostic workflow. Either identifying the species of CM or HM or excluding adulterations and toxin contaminants was strongly recommended to improve the level of evidence for a clinical diagnosis of HILI. In addition, the authors report that the improper use of CM, which violates the general law of CM theory, is one of the most important factors that contributes to HILI and should be avoided. By contrast, based on syndrome differentiation, some CM can also be used to treat HILI if used in accordance with the general law of CM theory. Therefore, 9 recommendations are put forward in this guideline.

Hypericum stellatum is an important ethnomedicinal plant endemic to southwest China. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was applied to analyze the chemical constituents of H. stellatum. Seventeen compounds from H. stellatum were tentatively identified using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS data. Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were investigated by DPPH assay and Folin-Ciocalted methods. The EtOAc extract with high total phenolic content showed prominent antioxidant activity. The EtOAc extract of H. stellatum was separated and purified by column chromatography, including silica gel, Sephedex LH-20, and RP-HPLC. The isolates were defined by 1D, 2D NMR data. As a result, ten compounds were isolated and assigned as quercetin (Ⅰ), quercetin 3---D-glucopyranoside (Ⅱ), 1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxylxanthone (Ⅲ), 1,3,5,6-tetrahydroxyxanthone (Ⅳ), 1,3,7-trihydroxyxanthone (Ⅴ), 3, 6, 7-trihydroxy-1-methoxyxanthone (Ⅵ), calycinoxanthon D (Ⅶ), caffeic acid ethyl ester (Ⅷ), chlorogenic acid (Ⅸ) and chlorogenic acid ethyl ester (Ⅹ). This is the first report on chemical constituents and bioactivity of H. stellatum. The antioxidant activity of chemical constituents was tentatively found, which provided a foundation for further researches on the genus Hypericum and the traditional uses of H. stellatum.

Astragalus membranaceus pathogenesis-related protein 10 (AmPR-10) is largely expressed in case of environmental pressure and pathogen invasion. This study aims to explore the biochemical functions of AmPR-10. The dried root of Astragalus membranaceus was mechanically homogenized and extracted by Tris-HCl buffer to obtain its crude extract, which was then purified by anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography to obtain electrophoretically pure AmPR-10. The nuclease activity of AmPR-10 was tested with different RNAs by detecting the absorption value at 260 nm. The results demonstrated potent nuclease activity toward yeast tRNA, yeast RNA, Poly (A) and Poly (C). The optimum reaction temperature was 50 °C and pH was 7-8. EDTA showed no effect on its activity, while Mg²⁺ exhibited potent activation effect on the activity, and Co²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Zn²⁺ manifested moderately inhibition of the activity. Since AmPR-10 had no sequence homology with other known nucleases, AmPR-10 was probably a novel nuclease. The inhibition kinetic data against papain was analyzed by Lineweaver-Burk plots, and the results showed that the inhibition of papain followed noncompetitive-type kinetics. AmPR-10 played an important role in Astragalus membranaceus defense mechanism against environmental pressure and pathogen invasion, which may be achieved by inhibiting cycteine enzymes activity.