ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms by which the combination of berberine （BBR） and baicalin （BAI） ameliorates type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） due to internal accumulation of dampness-heat from the perspectives of gut microbiota and metabolomics. MethodsAntibiotics were used to induce pseudo-sterile mice. Thirty pseudo-sterile mice were randomized into a normal fecal microbiota transplantation group （n=10） and a T2DM （syndrome of internal accumulation of dampness-heat） fecal microbiota transplantation group （n=20）. The mice were then administrated with suspensions of fecal microbiota from healthy volunteers and a patient with T2DM due to internal accumulation of dampness-heat by gavage， respectively. Each mouse received 200 µL suspension every other day for a total of 15 times to reshape the gut microbiota. The T2DM model mice were then assigned into a model group （n=8） and a BBR-BAI group （n=11）. BBR was administrated at a dose of 200 mg·kg^-1， and BAI was administrated in a ratio of BBR-BAI 10∶1 based on preliminary research findings. The administration lasted for 8 consecutive weeks. Fasting blood glucose （FBG）， glycated hemoglobin （HbA1c）， insulin （INS）， triglycerides （TG）， total cholesterol （CHOL）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， and alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels were measured to evaluate the effects of the BBR-BAI combination on glucose and lipid metabolism and liver function in T2DM mice. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was employed to observe pathological changes in the colon tissue. The expression of claudin-1， zonula occludens-1 （ZO-1）， and occludin in the colon tissue was determined by Western blot. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） was employed to assess the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， and interleukin-6 （IL-6） in the colon tissue. The fecal microbiota composition and differential metabolites were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF-MS）， respectively. ResultsThe BBR-BAI combination lowered the FBG， HbA1c， and INS levels （P<0.05， P<0.01） and alleviated insulin resistance （P<0.01） in T2DM mice. Additionally， BBR-BAI elevated the levels of ZO-1， occludin， and claudin-1 （P<0.05， P<0.01） and down-regulated the expression levels of TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-6 in the colon （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The results of 16S rRNA sequencing showed that BBR-BAI increased the relative abundance of Ligilactobacillus， Phascolarctobacterium， and Akkermansia （P<0.05）， while significantly decreasing the relative abundance of Alistipes， Odoribacter， and Colidextribacter （P<0.05）. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS identified 28 differential metabolites， which were primarily involved in arachidonic acid metabolism and α-linolenic acid metabolism. ConclusionBBR-BAI can ameliorate T2DM due to internal accumulation of dampness-heat by modulating the relative abundance of various bacterial genera in the gut microbiota and the expression of fecal metabolites.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of different drying conditions on the appearance and intrinsic quality indicators of Pinelliae Rhizoma for screening suitable drying conditions， so as to provide reference for its standardized production and quality evaluation. MethodsDifferent dried samples of Pinelliae Rhizoma were prepared by lime-assisted sweating method and intermittent drying method. Visual analysis was employed to measure the color brightness values（L^*） of the surface， cross-section and powder of the samples， texture analyzer was used to determine the hardness of the samples under different drying conditions. The total starch content was calculated by measuring the contents of amylose and amylopectin in the samples with ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. High performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） was used to determine the contents of seven nucleoside components（uracil， hypoxanthine， uridine， inosine， guanosine， β-thymidine and adenosine） in the samples. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between the external characteristics and intrinsic indicators of the different dried samples. Principal component analysis（PCA） was used to comprehensively rank the data of various indicators， and partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA） was used to screen differential components with variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1. Furthermore， the difference between the optimal drying condition for Pinelliae Rhizoma and the traditional sun-drying method was explored by independent samples t-test. ResultsWith the increase of temperature， the color of the intermittently dried samples gradually deepened， while their hardness gradually decreased. Concurrently， the contents of extract， total starch， uridine and adenosine exhibited an upward trend， whereas the contents of uracil， hypoxanthine and inosine displayed a downward trajectory. Compared with the intermittent drying group， the content of extract in the samples subjected to lime-assisted sweating increased. With the increase of lime dose， the hardness and the total content of nucleoside components in the samples showed a downward trend， while the total starch content showed an upward trend. Correlation analysis showed that the comprehensive score of L^* was negatively correlated with the contents of uracil， hypoxanthine and inosine， and positively correlated with the contents of uridine， guanosine and adenosine. Hardness was negatively correlated with adenosine content， and positively correlated with the contents of inosine， uracil and hypoxanthine. Through comprehensive consideration and comprehensive score of principal components， the method of 5% lime-mixed sweating for 6 days emerged as the top-ranking approach. Except for the extract， the results of independent samples t-test showed that there was no significant difference between the 5% lime-mixed sweating for 6 days and the traditional sun-drying in terms of other content indicators. ConclusionThe whiteness and firmness of Pinelliae Rhizoma exhibit significant correlations with its chemical composition， while uridine， uracil， guanosine， adenosine and inosine are the key constituents responsible for the quality difference of Pinelliae Rhizoma under different drying conditions. The lime-assisted sweating method optimized in this study can be proposed as a viable alternative to the traditional sun-drying method. This method not only ensures the quality of the medicinal material but also effectively reduces the drying time and prevents mold contamination， which provides a valuable reference for the standardization of drying conditions and the establishment of quality evaluation criteria for Pinelliae Rhizoma.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regulatory effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" (PC6) on mitochondrial autophagy in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) at different phases (ischemia and reperfusion phases), and to explore the bidirectional regulatory effects of EA at "Neiguan" (PC6) and its potential mechanism. METHODS: Forty-five male SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups according to the random number table method, namely, sham-operation group (n=9), model-A group (n=6), model-B group (n=9), EA-A1 group (n=6), EA-B1 group (n=6), and EA-B2 group (n=9). Except the rats in the sham-operation group, the MIRI model was established in the other groups with the physical ligation and tube pushing method. In the model-A group, the samples were collected directly after ligation, and in the model-B group, the samples were collected after ligation and reperfusion. In the EA-A1 group, EA was delivered while the ligation was performed, and afterwards, the samples were collected. In the EA-B1 group, while the ligation was performed, EA was operated at the same time, and after reperfusion, the samples were collected. In the EA-B2 group, during ligation and the opening of the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery, EA was delivered, and after reperfusion, the samples were collected. EA was performed at bilateral "Neiguan" (PC6), with a disperse-dense wave, a frequency of 2 Hz/100 Hz, a current of 1 mA, and a duration of 30 min. HE staining was employed to observe the morphology of cardiomyocytes, TUNEL was adopted to detect the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, transcriptome sequencing was to detect the differentially expressed genes in the left ventricle, JC-1 flow cytometry was to detect the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of cardiomyocytes, Western blot was to detect the protein expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced kinase 1 (Pink1), Parkin and p62 in the left ventricle of rats, and ELISA was to detect the levels of serum creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin I (cTn-I) in the rats. RESULTS: Compared with the sham-operation group, the cardiomyocytes of rats in the model-B group were severely damaged, with disordered arrangement, unclear boundaries, broken muscle fibers, edema and loose distribution; and the cardiomyocytes in the EA-B2 group were slightly damaged, the cell structure was partially unclear, the cells were arranged more regularly, and the intact cardiomyocytes were visible. Compared with the sham-operation group, the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes increased in the model-B group (P<0.001); and when compared with the model-B group, the apoptosis alleviated in the EA-B2 group (P<0.001). The differentially expressed genes among the EA-B2 group, the sham-operation group and the model-B group were closely related to cell autophagy and mitochondrial autophagy. Compared with the sham-operation group, MMP of cardiomyocytes was reduced (P<0.001), the protein expression of Pink1, Parkin, and p62 of the left ventricle and the levels of serum CK-MB and cTn-I were elevated in the model B group (P<0.001). In comparison with model-A group, the MMP of cardiomyocytes and the levels of serum CK-MB and cTn-I were reduced (P<0.001, P<0.05), and the protein expression of Pink1 in the left ventricle rose in the EA-A1 group (P<0.01). Compared with the model-B group, MMP of cardiomyocytes increased (P<0.001), the protein expression of Pink1, Parkin, and p62 of the left ventricle, and the levels of serum CK-MB and cTn-I decreased (P<0.001) in the EA-B1 group and the EA-B2 group. When compared with the EA-A1 group, MMP of cardiomyocytes increased (P<0.001), and the protein expression of Pink1, Parkin, and p62 of the left ventricle, and the levels of serum CK-MB and cTn-I decreased in the EA-B1 group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION EA at "Neiguan" (PC6) can ameliorate MIRI in rats, which may be achieved through the Pink1/Parkin-mediated mitochondrial autophagy pathway. EA can alleviate myocardial injury by enhancing mitochondrial autophagy at the ischemia phase, and it can reduce reperfusion injury by weakening mitochondrial autophagy at the reperfusion phase.
Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Male ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Acupuncture Points ; Autophagy ; Humans ; Mitochondria/genetics*

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the efficacy and safety of concomitant left atrial appendage clipping during heart valve surgery for valvular heart disease patients with atrial fibrillation. METHODS: Fifty-eight patients who underwent concomitant left atrial appendage clipping during cardiac valve surgery in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from January 2017 to June 2023 were included in the analysis, including 1 case who underwent aortic valve replacement, 49 cases who underwent mitral valve replace-ment (or valvuloplasty)+tricuspid valvuloplasty, and 8 cases who underwent double valve replacement+tricuspid valvuloplasty (3 cases combined with coronary artery bypass grafting). The patients were followed up for 3-36 months [(16.69±6.61) months] after operation, and the changes of cardiac function and the occurrence of serious adverse complications were evaluated. RESULTS: The cardiopulmonary bypass time ranged from 75 to 145 min [(102.50±21.03) min], and the aortic cross-clamp time ranged from 35 to 80 min [(58.02±14.63) min]. The length of postoperative intensive care unit stay was 1 to 5 days [(2.47±0.82) d], and the length of postoperative hospital stay was 7 to 22 days [(10.84±2.69) d]. Cardiac ultrasound indicated complete closure of the left atrial appendage in all cases. During the follow-up, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classifications were improved in 54 patients. No left atrial appendage-related bleeding events or other perioperative complications were observed; and no cerebral infarction, limb embolism events, or mortality cases occurred during the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS For valvular heart disease patients with atrial fibrillation, concomitant left atrial appendage clipping during cardiac valve surgery demonstrates efficacy and safety, with no severe adverse events during a medium-term follow-up.
Humans ; Atrial Appendage/surgery* ; Atrial Fibrillation/complications* ; Male ; Female ; Heart Valve Diseases/complications* ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Cardiac Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Mitral Valve/surgery*

Tailored lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)-mediated small interfering RNA (siRNA) nanomedicines show promise in treating liver disease, such as acute liver injury (ALI) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, constructing LNPs that address biosafety concerns, ensure efficient delivery, and target specific hepatic subcellular fractions has been challenging. To evade above obstacles, we develop three novel self-degradable "gemini-like" ionizable lipids (SS-MA, SS-DC, SS-MH) by incorporating disulfide bonds and modifying the length of ester bond and tertiary amino head. Our findings reveal that the disulfide-bond-bridged LNPs exhibit reduction-responsive drug release, improving both biosafety and siRNA delivery efficiency. Furthermore, the distance of ester bond and tertiary amino head significantly influences the LNPs' pK _a, thereby affecting endosomal escape, hemolytic efficiency, absorption capacity of ApoE, uptake efficiency of hepatocytes and liver accumulation. We also develop the modified-mannose LNPs (M-LNP) to target liver macrophages specifically. The optimized M-MH_LNP@TNFα exhibits potential in preventing ALI by decreasing tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) levels in the macrophages, while MH_LNP@DGAT2 could treat NASH by selectively degrading diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) in the hepatocytes. Our findings provide new insights into developing novel highly effective and low-toxic "gemini-like" ionizable lipids for constructing LNPs, potentially achieving more effective treatment for hepatic diseases.

Objectives To explore the trend characteristics of foodborne diseases in Jinan City and apply the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model (SARIMA) for prediction. Methods The incidence data of foodborne diseases from two active monitoring sentinel hospitals in Jinan City from 2014 to 2020 were collected to establish a time series. The SARIMA model was used to fit the incidence situation. The numbers of cases in 2021 were compared with the predicted values to validate the model and evaluate the predictive effect. Results The SARIMA (2, 0, 1) (0, 1, 1)₁₂ model was established and fitted the time series of food borne diseases in Jinan well, with AIC=687.22. Using Ljung Box function, P=0.499 was obtained, indicating that the residual error belonged to the white noise series. The data in 2021 was used to test the model extrapolation effect, and the actual values fell within the 95% confidence interval of the predicted value. The model prediction effect was relatively ideal. Conclusion SARIMA (2, 0, 1) (0, 1, 1)₁₂ model can better fit the temporal change of foodborne diseases, and therefore can be used to fit and predict the monthly incidence of foodborne diseases.

OBJECTIVE To provide evidence for the safe clinical application of Trastuzumab for injection. METHODS Reports of adverse drug reaction （ADR） related to Trastuzumab for injection submitted in Beijing from June 2018 to May 2023 were collected. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0 software. The gender and age of patients with ADRs， outcome， types of cancer， and the time of onset， severity， affected organs/systems of ADRs were included for analyses. The univariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted on patient fever and ADR prognosis. RESULTS A total of 195 patients with 318 instances of ADRs were included in the study. Women （87.69%） and patients aged 60-69 （33.85%） were more likely to experience ADRs. Breast cancer dominated （86.67%） in terms of cancer types； in terms of outcomes， most patients （67.69%） showed improvement， and some patients （27.69%） achieved full recovery. Overall， 68.72% of ADRs mainly occurred on the day of medication， and 95.38% of ADRs were of “moderate” severity. The most affected organs/systems were general diseases and various reactions at the administration site （40.57%）， with chills （18.87%） and fever （18.24%） being the most common. Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that fever mostly occurred within 1 day of medication （OR＝5.63， 95%CI was 2.26-14.02， P＜ 0.001）. The time of onset of ADR greater than 1 day was a risk factor for poor ADR prognosis （OR＝20.08， 95%CI was 2.45- 164.43， P＝0.005）， mainly manifesting as bone marrow suppression and liver function abnormalities. Neutrophilia， cardiorespiratory arrest， and mixed liver damage were new ADRs not recorded in the drug’s instructions. CONCLUSION Women and patients aged ≥60 are high-risk groups for ADRs of Trastuzumab for injection. Chills and fever remain the most common ADRs of this drug， and these symptoms mostly occur within 1 day of medication， which have better prognoses. Close attention should be paid to the patient’s temperature changes on the day of drug infusion， with timely intervention. Regular monitoring of the patient’s hematological indicators is necessary to detect any bone marrow suppression and liver function abnormalities after medication.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of neferine（Nef） in promoting vascular regeneration against cerebral ischemia through modulation of mitochondrial calcium uniporter（MCU） ion channel. MethodTaking the area of subintestinal vessels in microvascular deficiency zebrafish as an index， the vascular regenerative efficacy of Nef was evaluated， and the median effective concentration（EC₅₀） was calculated. Rats were randomly divided into a sham operation group， a model group， a positive drug group（butylphthalide， 6 mg·kg^-1）， and Nef low， medium， and high dose groups（0.125， 0.625， 3.125 μg·kg^-1）. Except for the sham operation group， the middle cerebral artery occlusion（MCAO） model was established in other groups. After modeling， the groups were administered the corresponding dose of drugs by gavage， while the sham operation and model groups received equal volumes of saline， once a day for 7 consecutive days. Neurobehavioral scores were assessed for each group of rats， and the infarct rate of ischemic brain tissue was calculated by 2，3，5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride（TTC） staining. The regional cerebral blood flow（rCBF） of each group was measured using a speckle contrast imaging. Immunofluorescence and Western blot were conducted to detect the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF）， platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1（CD31）， and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α（HIF-1α） proteins in each group. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells（HUVECs） were divided into the normal group， model group， positive drug group（astragaloside Ⅳ， 10 μmol·L^-1）， and Nef group （32 nmol·L^-1）. In the verification of mitochondrial protection of Nef and its mechanism in promoting vascular regeneration， the spermine（MCU agonist） and Nef+spermine group were added. HUVECs model of oxygen-glucose deprivation（OGD） was established in all groups except the normal group， the cell viability was assessed using 3-（4，5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2，5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide（MTT） assay， and cell migration ability was evaluated through scratch and tube formation assays. Fluorescent probes（Rhod-2 AM， Fluo-3 AM， JC-1， Calcein AM） and a cellular energy metabolism analyzer were used to analyze the mitochondrial protective effects of Nef. Molecular docking was performed to predict the binding ability of Nef with MCU and HIF-1α， and Western blot was used to detect the effects of Nef on the protein expressions of MCU， B-cell lymphoma-2 associated X protein（Bax）， Caspase-3 and HIF-1α in the OGD model HUVECs. ResultThe results of vascular regeneration in microvascular deficiency zebrafish showed that compared to the normal group， the area of subintestinal vessels in the model group significantly decreased（P<0.01）. Compared to the model group， different concentrations of Nef could significantly increase the area of subintestinal vessels（P<0.01）， with the maximum tolerated concentration of 10.24 μmol·L^-1 and the EC₅₀ of 0.23 μmol·L^-1. Anti-cerebral ischemia results on MCAO rats showed that compared to the sham operation group， the model group had a significant decrease in rCBF and a significant increase in infarct rate， while CD31 expression significantly decreased（P<0.01）， and VEGF and HIF-1α protein expressions significantly increased（P<0.05）. Compared to the model group， the treated groups showed significant increases in rCBF， significant reductions in infarct volume， and significant increases in CD31， VEGF， and HIF-1α protein expression（P<0.01）. Cell experiment results showed that compared to the normal group， the model group had decreased cell viability and migration ability， increased intracellular Ca²⁺ and mitochondrial Ca²⁺ levels， reduced mitochondrial permeability transition pore（MPTP） opening， and decreased mitochondrial energy metabolism capability， with increased expressions of MCU， Bax， Caspase-3 and HIF-1α proteins（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared to the model group， the Nef group showed increased cell viability and migration ability， decreased intracellular Ca²⁺ and mitochondrial Ca²⁺ levels， increased MPTP opening， enhanced mitochondrial energy metabolism capability， decreased expressions of MCU， Bax and Caspase-3 proteins， and increased HIF-1α protein expression（P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionNef can stabilize mitochondrial membrane potential and inhibit mitochondrial apoptosis. By down-regulating the expression of MCU， it suppresses the activation of intracellular Bax and Caspase-3 while activating the HIF-1α signaling pathway， enhancing the expression of VEGF and CD31， thereby promoting vascular regeneration to treat ischemic brain injury.