Butyric acid is a type of short chain fatty acid and an important nutrient in intestinal epithelial cells.In addition to its important role in intestinal health,it has application value in anti-tumor,treatment of neuritis and di-abetes.At the same time,based on the demand for green development in the livestock industry,its anti-inflammato-ry effect can avoid the abuse of antimicrobial agents.As a green,pollution-free,and residue-free new feed,butyric acid ensures the sustainable and healthy development of the livestock industry.This article mainly summarizes the production of butyric acid in the intestine,its effects on the balance of gut microbiota,digestion ability,and inflam-mation in humans and animals,elaborates its application in human health and animal production.

Objective To compare the detection rates and antimicrobial resistance rates of Klebsiella pneumoniae(KP)between the intensive care unit of The First People's Hospital of Changzhou(CZFPH-ICU)and the American Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-Ⅳ(MIMIC-Ⅳ),as well as the changes in the antimicrobial resistance rate of KP and detection rate of carbapenem-resistant KP(CRKP)in CZFPH-ICU.Methods Differences in speci-men distribution and antimicrobial resistance rate of KP detected from CZFPH-ICU and MIMIC-Ⅳ from 2017 to 2019,as well as the changing trends of specimen distribution,antimicrobial resistance rate,detection rates of KP and CRKP from different specimen sources in CZFPH-ICU from 2017 to 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Results A total of 2 434 strains of KP were detected in CZFPH-ICU from 2017 to 2019,mainly from sputum specimens.A total of 1 137 strains of KP were detected from MIMIC-Ⅳ database,mainly from urine specimens.Compared with MIMIC-Ⅳ,KP detected from CZFPH-ICU showed higher resistance rate to commonly used antimicrobial agents.A total of 4 874 strains of KP were detected from CZFPH-ICU from 2020 to 2023,mainly from sputum specimens.The detection rates of CRKP from sputum,urine,drainage fluid and bile specimens decreased from 17.77％,20.15％,24.22％and 24.07％in 2017-2019 to 12.99％,13.56％,13.63％and 8.00％in 2020-2023,respectively(all P＜0.05).The changing trend of resistance rate of KP isolated from CZFPH-ICU from 2017 to 2023 to commonly used antimicrobial agents such as piperacillin/tazobactam,imipenem,and meropenem increased in 2017-2019,decreased in 2020-2022,and slightly increased in 2023.In 2013,the resistance rates of KP isolated from CZFPH-ICU to ceftazidime/avibactam,polycolistin B and tigacycline were 21.28％,10.22％and 7.03％,respectively.Conclusion In recent 7 years,resistance rate of KP from CZFPH-ICU showed a slow decline trend,but it was still higher than that in foreign MIMIC-Ⅳ database.Hospitals should strengthen various infection prevention and control measures to ef-fectively control KP resistance and infection.

This study investigated the characteristics of gut microbiota imbalance in patients with infectious diarrhea caused by various pathogenic infections,and the role of Bacteroides in maintaining homeostasis in the intestinal environment.The gut microbiota in patients with diarrhea caused by pathogenic infections,such as viral and bacterial infections,was determined through full-length 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.Patients with diarrhea were grouped and analyzed according to the presence of single bacterial infection,single viral infection,mixed infection,or Clostridioides difficile infection.Bacteroides had the highest absolute number and relative abundance in the gut microbiota in healthy people,whereas patients with infectious diar-rhea showed lower relative abundance of Bacteroides at each phylum/order/family/genus taxonomic level.Alpha diversity anal-ysis indicated no significant differences among groups.NMDS and PCoA indicated formation of distinct clusters in the control group compared with the different infectious diarrhea groups.The diversity of the gut microbiota was higher in the control group than the infectious diarrhea groups.Patients with infec-tious diarrhea caused by different pathogens showed differing predominant gut microbiota.Bifidobacterium predominated in the single viral infection group,Streptococcus predominated in the single bacterial infection group,and Lachnoclostridium predominated in the mixed infection group.Escherichia and Klebsiella were the major gut microbiota in the C.difficile infection group.Meanwhile,the dominant gut microbiota in the healthy population was Bacteroides.COG function prediction revealed that the healthy control group formed a distinct cluster from the different infection groups.The functions of defense mechanisms,cell wall synthesis,protein modification,cellular differentiation,and replication and recombination were signifi-cantly diminished in all infectious diarrhea groups.In general,patients with infectious diarrhea caused by different pathogens showed dysbiosis,with diminished gut microbiota diversity and the emergence of related biomarkers.Our findings indicated that Bacteroides has a key role in maintaining the homeostasis of the human intestinal environment,thus providing new ideas for the subsequent treatment of infectious diarrhea and research in other fields.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to explore the mechanism of intestinal inflammation and barrier repair in Crohn's disease (CD) regulated by moxibustion through bile acid (BA) enterohepatic circulation and intestinal farnesoid X receptor (FXR). METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, CD model group, mild moxibustion group and herb-partitioned moxibustion group. CD model rats induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid were treated with mild moxibustion or herb-partitioned moxibustion at Tianshu (ST25) and Qihai (CV6). The changes in CD symptoms were rated according to the disease activity index score, the serum and colon tissues of rats were collected, and the pathological changes in colon tissues were observed via histopathology. Western blot, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence were used to evaluate the improvement of moxibustion on intestinal inflammation and mucosal barrier in CD by the BA-FXR pathway. RESULTS: Mild moxibustion and herb-partitioned moxibustion improved the symptoms of CD, inhibited inflammation and repaired mucosal damage to the colon in CD rats. Meanwhile, moxibustion could improve the abnormal expression of BA in the colon, liver and serum, downregulate the expression of interferon-γ and upregulate the expression of FXR mRNA, and inhibit Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) mRNA. The IHC results showed that moxibustion could upregulate the expression of FXR and mucin2 and inhibit TLR4 expression. Western blot showed that moxibustion inhibited the protein expression of TLR4 and MyD88 and upregulated the expression of FXR. Immunofluorescence image analysis showed that moxibustion increased the colocalization sites and intensity of FXR with TLR4 or nuclear factor-κB p65. In particular, herb-partitioned moxibustion has more advantages in improving BA and upregulating FXR and TLR4 in the colon. CONCLUSION Mild moxibustion and herb-partitioned moxibustion can improve CD by regulating the enterohepatic circulation stability of BA, activating colonic FXR, regulating the TLR4/MyD88 pathway, inhibiting intestinal inflammation and repairing the intestinal mucosal barrier. Herb-partitioned moxibustion seems to have more advantages in regulating BA enterohepatic circulation and FXR activation. Please cite this article as: Shen JC, Qi Q, Han D, Lu Y, Huang R, Zhu Y, Zhang LS, Qin XD, Zhang F, Wu HG, Liu HR. Moxibustion improves experimental colitis in rats with Crohn's disease by regulating bile acid enterohepatic circulation and intestinal farnesoid X receptor. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(2): 194-204.
Rats ; Animals ; Crohn Disease/pathology* ; Moxibustion/methods* ; Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88/metabolism* ; Colitis ; Inflammation ; Enterohepatic Circulation ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) dose in grafts and the occurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). METHODS: The clinical data of 80 children who received allo-HSCT in Children's Hospital of Soochow University from August 20, 2020 to June 11, 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Proportions of DC subsets and T-cell subsets in grafts were detected by flow cytometry in order to calculate infused cell dose of each cell. Weekly monitoring of CMV-DNA copies in peripheral blood for each child were performed after transplantation. The last follow-up date was December 31, 2021. RESULTS: All the children gained hematopoietic reconstitution. CMV infection was observed in 51 children (63.8%±5.4%) within the first 100 days after transplantation, including 2 cases developing CMV disease. Univariate analysis indicated that infused doses of DC and pDC were significantly associated with CMV infection within 100 days after allo-HSCT (P <0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that a high dose infusion of pDC was an independent protective factor for CMV infection within 100 days after allo-HSCT (P <0.05). By the end of follow-up, 7 children died of transplantation-related complications, including 2 deaths from CMV disease, 2 deaths from extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease, and 3 deaths from capillary leak syndrome. The overall survival rate was 91.2%. CONCLUSION The pDC in grafts may be associated with early infection of CMV after allo-HSCT, while a high infused pDC dose may serve as a protective factor for CMV infection after transplantation.
Child ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Graft vs Host Disease/complications* ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Dendritic Cells

Since 2010, the incidence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) has been increased. Owing the progress in diagnosis and treatment, the overall mortality of SFTS in China has decreased, while the mortality in critical SFTS patients is still high. In order to provide guidance and working procedures for clinicians to diagnose and treat critical SFTS, the National Medical Center for Major Public Health Events invited experts to discuss and formulate this consensus based on their experience and up-to-date knowledge on SFTS.

Anxiety/epidemiology* ; Depression/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Sleep ; Sleep Quality ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Universities

Objective: To explore the impact of environmental temperature exposure on eczema visits. Methods: Eczema clinic data from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019 were collected from the Huizhou Dermatology Hospital, and data on meteorological factors (average daily temperature and relative humidity) for the same period were derived from 86 meteorological stations of the Guangdong Provincial Climate Center. A distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) was used to assess the lagged effect of environmental temperature exposure on eczema, and a natural smooth spline function was used to control the nonlinear confounding of humidity. Results: There were 254 053 eczema outpatient visits at the Huizhou Dermatology Hospital within four years, with an average of 173.89 visits per day. The relationship between daily average temperature and the number of visits was non-linear (U shape). The risk of eczema increased by 2.20% (1.19%-3.21%) for every 1 ℃ decrease for the low temperature, and increased by 2.35% (1.24%-3.5%) for every 1 ℃ increase for the high temperature. The effect of high temperature was greater than that of low temperature. In all cases, 1.60% (0.44%-2.68%) of eczema outpatient visits were attributed to low temperature and the attributable number was 4 065 (1 128-6 798), while 6.33% (1.40%-10.87%) of eczema outpatient visits were due to high temperature and the attributable number was 16 082 (3 557-27 616). Conclusion: Both high temperature and low temperature are associated with increased risk of eczema.
Humans ; Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Temperature ; Outpatients ; Cities ; Eczema/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Air Pollutants/analysis*

OBJECTIVE: Herbal medicine is an important therapeutic option for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a common disease in older men that can seriously affect their quality of life. Currently, it is crucial to develop agents with strong efficacy and few side effects. Herein we investigated the effects of the extract of Rauwolfia vomitoria, a shrub grown in West Africa, on BPH. METHODS: Rats with testosterone-induced BPH were treated with R. vomitoria. Prostates were histologically analyzed by Hematoxylin and eosin staining. Proliferation index and the expression levels of androgen receptor and its associated proteins were quantified through immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Androgen receptor target genes were examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The sperm count and body weight of rats were also measured. RESULTS: The oral administration of R. vomitoria extract significantly reduced the prostate weight and prostate weight index in BPH rats, supported by the decreased thickness of the prostate epithelial layer and increased lumen size. Similar effects were observed in the BPH rats treated with the reference drug, finasteride. R. vomitoria extract significantly reduced the testosterone-induced proliferation markers, including proliferating cell nuclear antigen and cyclin D1, in the prostate glands of BPH rats; it also reduced levels of androgen receptor, its associated protein steroid 5α-reductase 1 and its downstream target genes (FK506-binding protein 5 and matrix metalloproteinase 2). Notably, compared with the finasteride group, R. vomitoria extract did not significantly reduce sperm count. CONCLUSION R. vomitoria suppresses testosterone-induced BPH development. Due to its milder side effects, R. vomitoria could be a promising therapeutic agent for BPH.

The recycling of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） wastes is an important research topic to be solved urgently in the industrialization of TCM resources. Rhei Radix et Rhizoma is a bulk Chinese herb mainly derived from Rheum palmatum，R. tanguticum，and R. officinale. At present，these three medicinal plants have been cultivated on a large scale and widely used in the fields of medicine，health care，food，cosmetics，and veterinary medicine，with an annual demand of more than 5 500 tons（1 ton=1 000 kg）. However，a large number of wastes such as non-medicinal parts and residues produced in the production and deep processing are discarded because there is no effective way of utilization，resulting in serious waste of resources and environmental pollution. The non-medicinal parts contain not only the chemical components and pharmacological effects similar to those of roots and rhizomes but also a variety of amino acids，mineral elements，and conventional nutrients. They have a long history of use，and the content of some resource components is higher than that in roots and rhizomes. In particular，their stems and leaves exhibit great potential to be consumed as food and medicine due to high safety. Besides，the content of anthraquinones in Rhei Radix et Rhizoma residue is high and it possesses good antibacterial activity. It can be seen that the waste from the industrialization of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma has high utilization value. Hence，based on the relevant literature and investigation on the application of producing areas in China and abroad，the paper summarized the utilization status of their medicinal and non-medicinal parts，the waste production in the industrialization，as well as the active substances and utilization ways and put forward the multi-level and multi-path utilization strategy of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma wastes，in order to provide reference for the rational development and application of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma resources and promote the effective utilization and green development of the corresponding wastes.