Mitochondria are abundant in hepatocytes and play an important role in the normal operation of the liver. Mitochondrial division/fusion is two biological processes that maintain the dynamic balance of mitochondria， and it is closely associated with the change of cell function and the development and progression of diseases. Balance of mitochondrial division/fusion is of key significance in the treatment of many diseases. Recent studies have shown that abnormal mitochondrial division/fusion plays a significant role in fatty liver disease， hepatitis， liver fibrosis， and liver cancer， which are the four stages of the progression of liver diseases， and the therapeutic targets based on the regulation of such abnormalities are constantly being identified. By reviewing the role of mitochondrial division/fusion in different stages of liver disease， this article further demonstrates the role of mitochondrial division/fusion mechanism in chronic liver diseases and also provides a scientific basis for more ideas on the treatment， remission or even reversal of liver disease progression based on mitochondrial division/fusion.

Background At present, the practice of pulmonary rehabilitation for pneumoconiosis in China is in a primary stage. The basis for formulating an individualized comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation plan is still insufficient, which is one of the factors limiting the development of community-level rehabilitation work. Objective To formulate an exercise prescription based on maximum heart rate measured by cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), conduct an individualized comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation program with the exercise prescription for patients with stable pneumoconiosis, and evaluate its role in improving exercise endurance and quality of life, thus provide a basis for the application and promotion of pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods A total of 68 patients were recruited from the Occupational Disease Prevention Hospital of Jinneng Holding Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. from April to August 2022 , and were divided into an intervention group and a control group by random number table method, with 34 cases in each group. All the pneumoconiosis patients participated in a baseline test. The control group was given routine drug treatment, while the intervention group received multidisciplinary comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation treatment on the basis of routine drug treatment, including health education, breathing training, exercise training, nutrition guidance, psychological intervention, and sleep management, whose exercise intensity was determined according to the maximum heart rate provided by CPET. The rehabilitation training lasted for 24 weeks. Patients were evaluated at registration and the end of study respectively. CPET was used to measure peak oxygen uptake per kilogram (pVO₂/kg), anaerobic threshold (AT), carbon dioxide equivalent of ventilation (EqCO₂), maximum metabolic equivalent (METs), and maximum work (W_max). The modified British Medical Research Council Dyspnea Questionnaire (mMRC), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test (CAT), and Short Form of Health Survey (SF-36) were used to evaluate the potential effect of the comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation program. Results Among the included 68 patients, 63 patients were having complete data, then 31 cases were assigned in the control group and 32 cases in the interventional group. Before the intervention, there was no significant difference in pVO₂/kg, AT, EqCO₂, METs, or W_max between the two groups (P>0.05). At the end of the trail, the indicators like pVO₂/kg [(19.81±2.38) mL·(min·kg)⁻¹], AT [(14.48±2.33) mL·(min·kg)⁻¹], METs (5.64±0.69), and W_max [(85.25±14) W] of patients in the intervention group were all higher than those [(13.90±2.37) mL·(min·kg)⁻¹, (11.70±1.94) mL·(min kg)⁻¹, (3.97±0.70), and (61.77±14.72) W, respectively] in the control group (P<0.001); there was no significant difference in EqCO₂ between the two groups (P=0.083). Before the trial, there was no significant difference in mMRC, SAS, SDS, PSQI, or CAT scores between the two groups (P>0.05). At the end of the trail, the mMRC score (1.16±0.57), SAS score (27.93±2.12), SDS score (26.48±1.44), PSQI score (1.08±0.88), and CAT score (4.34±3.28) of patients in the intervention group were lower than those [(2.03±0.83), (35.87±6.91), (34.23±6.65), (5.37±3.03), and (13.87±7.53), respectively] in the control group (P<0.001). The SF-36 scores of bodily pain (94.13±10.72), general health (87.50±5.68), vitality (95.31±5.53), mental health (99.88±0.71), and health changes (74.22±4.42) in the intervention group were higher than those [(71.87±32.72), (65.81±15.55), (74.52±16.45), (86.97±16.56), and (29.84±13.50), respectively] in the control group (P<0.001), and no significant difference was found in social functioning and role emotional scores (P>0.05). Conclusion Comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation can increase the oxygen intake and exercise endurance of pneumoconiosis patients, ameliorate dyspnea symptoms, elevate psychological state and sleep quality, and improve the quality of life.

Background It is a research hotspot to study the changes of metabolites and metabolic pathways in the process of coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) by metabonomics and to explore its pathogenesis. Objective To study the change of metabolites in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with CWP and explore the metabolic regulation mechanism of the disease. Methods Patients with CWP who met the national diagnostic criteria according to Diagnosis of occupational pneumoconiosis (GBZ 70-2015) and underwent massive whole lung lavage were selected as the case group, and patients with tracheostenosis who underwent bronchoscopy were selected as the control group. BALF samples were collected from the cases and the controls. After filtering out large particles and mucus, the supernatant was stored in a −80 ℃ refrigerator. The samples were detected and analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry after adding extraction solution, cold bath ultrasonication, and high-speed centrifugation, and the metabolic profiles and related data of CWP patients were obtained. The differential metabolites related to the occurrence and development of CWP were screened by multiple statistical analysis; furthermore, we searched the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database for potential metabolic pathways involved in the progression. Results There was no significant difference in the general conditions of the subjects, such as weight, height, age, and length of service among the stage I group, the stage II group, the stage III group, and the control group (P˃0.05). When comparing the CWP stage I group with the control group, 48 differential metabolites were screened out, among which 14 were up-regulated and 34 were down-regulated. A total of 66 differential metabolites were screened out between the patients with CWP stage II and the controls, 14 up-regulated and 52 down-regulated differential metabolites. Compared with the control group, 63 differential metabolites were screened out in the patients with CWP stage III, including 11 up-regulated and 52 down-regulated differential metabolites. There were 36 differential metabolites that may be related to the occurrence of CWP, among which 11 differential metabolites were up-regulated, and 25 were down-regulated. Four significant differential metabolic pathways were identified through KEGG database query: linoleic acid metabolic pathway, alanine metabolic pathway, sphingolipid metabolic pathway, and glycerophospholipid metabolic pathway. Conclusion The metabolomic study of BALF show that there are 36 different metabolites in the occurrence and development of CWP, mainly associating with linoleic acid metabolism, alanine metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways.

Background Pneumoconiosis is a widespread occupational disease in China at present. As a type of lung diseases, its pathological damage is mainly irreversible fibrotic changes in the lungs. Several studies have shown that the occurrence and development of lung diseases such as coal workers' pneumoconiosis are closely related to intestinal flora. Objective To observe intestinal flora of coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients based on the results of 16SrDNA high-throughput sequencing and evaluate the changes of intestinal flora after treatment with tetrandrine tablets. Methods A total of 80 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis attending the outpatient clinic of the Department of Occupational Diseases of the Emergency General Hospital from April to July 2022 were enrolled. All patients were treated with tetrandrine tablets for 4 weeks, with group A before the treatment of tetrandrine tablets and group B after the treatment. In the same period, 24 healthy controls (group C) were set up. Stool samples were collected before and after the treatment. Using 16SrDNA high-throughput sequencing, gene V3-V4 sequencing technology, and bioinformatic analysis platform, we evaluated the intestinal flora after treatment by groups. Results The dominant flora at the phylum level and genus level were the same across three groups. The relative abundances of phylum Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, and Facealibacterium in groups B and C were higher than those in group A, and the relative abundances of phy-lum Actinobacteria, genus Blautia, and genus Romboutsia in groups B and C were lower than those in group A (P＜0.05). The relative abundances of genus Clostridium, genus Megamonas, and genus Lactobacillus in group C was lower than that in groups A and B (P＜0.05). The alpha diversity analysis showed that the Chao1 index was higher in group A than in group C (P＜0.01). Compared with group A, the Shannon index was higher in group B, and the increases of Simpson index were all statistically significant in stage I patients (P＜0.05), but the differences in Chao1 index were not statistically significant (P＞0.05). The differences in the values of Chao1 index, Shannon index, and Simpson index in stage Ⅱ and stage III patients were not statistically significant (P＞0.05). The beta diversity analysis showed that the difference in flora structure between group A and group C was statistically significant (P＜0.05); the differences in flora structure before and after treatment in the same stage patients were statistically significant (P＜0.05). The partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed that there were significant differences between group A and group C, and between group A and group B. The LEfSe analysis showed that the significant markers contributing to the differences were basically the same in stage I, stage Ⅱ, and stage Ⅲ after treatment, which were mainly phylum Bacteroidetes and its subordinate groups, class Negativicutes, or-der Selenomonas, and genus Facealibacterium. Conclusion There are differences in the distribution of flora between coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients and healthy individuals, and the structure and relative abundance of intestinal flora are changed and the number of beneficial flora is increased after treatment with tetrandrine tablets.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of eosinophilic lung diseases(ELD) in children to enhance pediatricians′ understanding of ELD.Methods:In this retrospective cross-sectional study, a total of 149 children with ELD were recruited from Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2022.Chi-square test, Fisher′s exact test, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyze data and conclude clinical characteristics.Spearman correlation was used to analyze the correlation between eosinophils in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.Chi-square test and Kappa consistency test were used to compare the differences and consistency in diagnostic results between bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or lung biopsy and eosinophil elevation with chest imaging abnormalities. Results:(1)The isolated lung involvement was mostly caused by allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis(9 patients), and other system involvement by idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome(89 patients).(2)The main respiratory manifestations included coughing(90 cases, 60.4%) and expectoration(41 cases, 27.5%), while 23.5%(35 cases) of patients had no respiratory symptoms; 50.3% had digestive system involvement, and 40.9% had skin involvement.These were the two most commonly affected organs.(3)Spearman correlation was performed between eosinophils in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid( r=0.3, P<0.05).Chi-square test was performed to compare ELD diagnosed by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or lung biopsy with peripheral blood eosinophilia accompanied by abnormal chest imaging( P<0.05).Kappa consistency test(Kappa<0.2) showed poor consistency between the two diagnostic methods. Conclusions:ELD are present in children, and multiple etiologies may be pathogenic.Among children with ELD, the isolated lung involvement is mainly caused by allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.The digestive system and skin are the most commonly affected organs, except for lungs.The correlation between eosinophil levels in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is poor.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Xiao′er Huangjin Zhike Granules in the treatment of cough caused by acute bronchitis in children, which is defined in TCM terms as a syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing the lung.Methods:This was a block-randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial.From January 2022 to September 2023, 359 children aged 3 to 7 years old diagnosed as acute bronchitis (lung-obstructing phlegm-heat syndrome) were enrolled from 21 participating hospitals and randomly assigned to the experimental group and placebo group in a 3︰1 ratio, and respectively treated with Xiao′er Huangjin Zhike Granules and its matching placebo.Cough resolution/general resolution rate after 7 days of treatment was used as the primary efficacy outcome for both groups.Results:(1)On the seventh day of treatment, the rate of cough disappearance/basically disappearance in the experimental group and placebo group were 73.95% and 57.61% retrospectively, which had statistically significance ( P=0.001).(2)After 7 days of treatment, the median duration of cough disappearance/basic disappearance were 5 days and 6 days in the two groups , with a statistically significant difference ( P=0.006).The area under the curve of cough symptom severity time was 7.20 ± 3.79 in the experimental group and 8.20±4.42 in the placebo group.The difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P=0.039).(3) After 7 days of treatment, the difference between TCM syndrome score and baseline was -16.0 (-20.0, -15.0) points in the experimental group and -15.0 (-18.0, -12.0) points in the placebo group, with significant difference between the two groups ( P=0.004).In the experimental group, the clinical control rate, the markedly effective rate, the effective rate and the ineffective rate were 49.04%, 28.35%, 16.48% and 6.13% severally; and in the placebo group, the clinical control rate, the markedly effective rate, the effective rate and the ineffective rate were 38.04%, 26.09%, 29.35%, and 6.52% separately, which had statistically significant ( P=0.014).(4) There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events or adverse reactions during the trial between both groups.Moreover, while adverse reactions in the form of vomiting and diarrhea were occasionally reported, no serious drug-related adverse event or adverse reaction was reported.(5)The tested drug provided good treatment compliance, showing no statistically significant difference from the placebo in terms of compliance rate. Conclusions:Based on the above findings, it can be concluded that Xiao′er Huangjin Zhike Granules provides good safety, efficacy, and treatment compliance in the treatment of cough caused by acute bronchitis, and lung-obstructing phlegm-heat syndrome, in children.

The clinical data of a case of Niemann-Pick disease type C diagnosed at Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University on December 22, 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.The patient, male, 1 year and 28 days old, was admitted to the hospital primarily due to intermittent fever, cough and dyspnea for 8 months, and hepatosplenomegaly for 20 days.The patient initially presented with cough, expectoration, and wheezing, followed by hypotonia and delayed motor development.At the age of 1 year, the child developed hepatosplenomegaly and diffuse interstitial changes in both lungs.At the age of 3 years, the child had obvious vertical supranuclear gaze palsy and gelastic cataplexy, followed by dysarthria and dysphagia.The foam cells were found by bone marrow cytology, while sphingomyelinase and glucocerebrosidase were normal, so Niemann-Pick disease type A/B and Gaucher disease were excluded.Finally, genetic testing revealed two pathogenic mutations in the NPC1 gene, so Niemann-Pick disease type C was confirmed.Miglustat treatment began when the child was 3 years old, and vertical supranuclear gaze palsy and gelastic cataplexy improved for a while, but then the neurological symptoms worsened again, with dysphagia and dyspnea gradually increasing, and finally he died at the age of 4 years and 11 months.

Objective:To explore the effect of multidisciplinary management combined with 60-second high-risk diabetic foot screening in diabetic foot.Methods:From January to December 2022, 138 patients with diabetic foot were selected from Xinxiang Central Hospital by convenience sampling. The patients were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, with 69 cases in each group. Control group implemented routine follow-up management of diabetic foot, and observation group carried out multidisciplinary management combined with 60-second high-risk diabetic foot screening on the basis of control group, and the intervention lasted for six months. The progress of Wagner grading of diabetic foot and foot self-care were compared between the two groups.Results:After intervention, the number of Wagner grading progression patients in observation group and control group was four cases (5.80%) and 10 cases (14.49%), respectively. The number of progression patients in observation group was less than that in control group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=4.161, P=0.041). The total score and dimension scores of diabetic foot self-management in the two groups after the intervention were higher than those before the intervention, but only the scores of observation group before and after the intervention were statistically significant ( P<0.05). After intervention, the total score and dimension scores of diabetic foot self-management in observation group were higher than those in control group, with a statistically significant difference ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:Multidisciplinary management combined with 60-second high-risk diabetic foot screening can effectively delay the progress of diabetic foot and improve patients' foot self-care.

Objective To establish a liver-specific Rbp4 gene knockout mouse model and to explore the effect of liver Rbp4 gene deletion on glucose metabolism.Methods Cre-LoxP technology was used to construct a liver-specific Rbp4 gene knockout mouse model using C57/BL6J and Alb-Cre mice.The genotype of the mice was identified by polymerase chain reaction and agarose gel electrophoresis.Ten 18 week old C57/BL6J male mice were included in the WT group,10 flox homozygous and Alb-Cre negative mice of the same age were included in the experimental control group(Rbp4flox/flox:Cre-),and 10 flox homozygous and Alb-Cre positive mice of the same age were included in the experimental group(Rbp4flox/flox:Cre+).Expression levels of RBP4 protein and mRNA in the liver were verified by Western Blot and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR),respectively,and expression levels of Rbp4 mRNA in other tissues were detected by qRT-PCR.Morphological changes in liver tissue were detected by hematoxylin and eosin staining.Blood glucose values were detected in mouse tail vein blood samples using a blood glucose meter,and glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance were determined.Expression levels of the liver glucose metabolism genes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase(Pepck)and glucose-6-phosphatase(G6pase)were detected by qRT-PCR.Results Liver-specific Rbp4 knockout mice were successfully bred and identified.RBP4 protein and mRNA levels were significantly decreased in the liver of Rbp4flox/flox:Cre+mice(P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference in the relative expression levels of Rbp4 mRNA in fat,kidney,pancreas,spleen,heart,or muscle tissues among the three groups(P＞0.05).Liver-specific Rbp4 knockout had no significant effect on liver morphology,glucose tolerance,or insulin tolerance(P＞0.05).Pepck mRNA levels in the liver differed significantly among the three groups(P＜0.05),and pairwise comparison showed that liver Pepck mRNA levels were significantly lower in Rbp4flox/flox:Cre+mice compared with levels in Rbp4flox/flox:Cre-mice(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in liver glucose-6-phosphatase(G6pase)mRNA expression among the three groups(P＞0.05).Conclusions We successfully constructed a liver-specific Rbp4 knockout mouse model.Deletion of Rbp4 in the liver inhibited expression of Pepck mRNA in the liver,thus providing a basis for further exploration of the role of this gene in glucose metabolism in mice.

Background Multi-slice spiral computerized tomography (MSCT) can be used as an auxiliary diagnosis of chest radiography in diagnosis of pneumoconiosis, but there are few studies on the correlations between interstitial images and stage classification of coal workers' pneumoconiosis in the existing literature. Objective To present MSCT imaging manifestations and distribution characteristics of coal workers' pneumoconiosis and complications, evaluate correlations between coal workers' pneumoconiosis stages and pulmonary interstitial lesions, and provide a reliable imaging diagnosis basis for pneumoconiosis interstitial lesions. Methods From June 2022 to June 2023, a total of 1002 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis confirmed by the pneumoconiosis diagnostic and identification group in the Department of Occupational Diseases of the Emergency General Hospital were enrolled. MSCT was used to observe the abnormal imaging manifestations of the lungs of coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients and the diseases of pulmonary fibrosis related to their own diseases (thickening of the interlobular septum, bronchial perivascular interstitial mass thickening, parenchymal banding, subpleural line, intralobular interstitial thickening, honeycomb, and subpleural interstitial thickening), the occurrence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis and complications (old tuberculosis, active tuberculosis, pneumonia, atelectasis, lung cancer, bronchiectasis), and the density, size, and location of pneumoconiosis nodules. Imaging data were analyzed and statistically processed. Results All 1002 patients were male, with an average age of (60.71±6.87) years and an average dust exposure time of (23.01±7.80) years. Among them, there were 470 patients with stage I, 422 patients with stage II, and 110 patients with stage III. There were significant differences in the distribution of thickening of the interlobular septum, bronchial perivascular interstitial mass thickening, parenchymal banding, intralobular interstitial thickening, subpleural interstitial thickening, and honeycomb across different stages (P<0.05). Statistically significant differences in p, q, and r subsets of round nodules were found in patients with pneumoconiosis at different stages (P<0.05). Observed nodule types included solid nodules, pure ground-glass shadow nodules, and partial solid nodules. There were statistically significant differences in pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchiectasis among different stages of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in interstitial shadows and patches combined with interstitial shadows among different stages of pneumoconiosis complicated with pneumonia (P<0.05). Conclusion MSCT provides images of the progression of coal workers' pneumoconiosis and have a certain relationship with the stages of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, which is conducive to the formulation of reasonable treatment plans in the early clinical stage. Therefore, in the diagnosis and treatment of pneumoconiosis, a great attention should be paid to the imaging technology of chest computerized tomography, especially the use of MSCT examination.