Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disease characterized by synovial inflammation, cartilage loss. Often manifesting as joint pain and limited mobility, it severely affects the quality of life of patients. Traditional treatment methods such as pharmacological injections and surgical interventions primarily aim to alleviate symptoms but have limited effects on cartilage repair. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs), due to their anti-inflammatory and chondrogenic capabilities, is considered a new hope for the treatment of KOA. This article synthesizes the latest research findings from both domestic and international sources to discuss the theoretical basis for the clinical application of hUC-MSCs in treating KOA, clinical study design, and efficacy evaluation. It also addresses the challenges in the clinical application of hUC-MSCs and explores future directions, in the hope of providing feasible theoretical support for the treatment of KOA with hUC-MSCs.

The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) gene family is an important regulator for plant growth hormone signaling, involved in plant growth, development, as well as response to environmental stresses. In the present study, we identified SmIAA7 which is potentially associated with Salvia miltiorrhiza leaf development through comparatively analyzed the transcriptome data from different pinnate leaves. SmIAA7 was successfully isolated from S. miltiorrhiza using the specific primers. Then subsequent bioinformatic analysis, prokaryotic expression and purification, subcellular localization, and induction expression analysis under auxin and abiotic stress were performed. The full-length of SmIAA7 contained an ORF of 684 bp encoding a protein of 227 amino acid with a molecular weight of 25.3 kD. Conserved domain analysis showed that SmIAA7 contains the conserved Aux_IAA domain (pfam02309). Sequence analysis and phylogenetic tree analysis results indicated SmIAA7 was phylogenetically close to IAA7 and IAA14 from other plants, suggesting SmIAA7 involved in plant growth and development as well as response to environmental stresses. The prokaryotic expression vector pET28a-SmIAA7 was constructed and SmIAA7 recombinant protein was successfully expressed in E. coli Rosetta (DE3) strain. Subcellular localization experiment demonstrated that SmIAA7 localized in the nucleus of plant cells. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR results showed that the expression level of SmIAA7 was upregulated in response to auxin. Drought, low temperature, and salt stress significantly increased the transcript level of SmIAA7 gene. This study lays a foundation for further elucidating the role of SmIAA7 in leaf development, signal transduction, and stress defense in S. miltiorrhiza.

ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemiological characteristics of patients with hepatitis C in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province from 2005 to 2023, so as to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of hepatitis C. MethodsThe data on patients with hepatitis C, as well as whose current address is in Jinhua City, from 2005 to 2023 were collected from the infectious disease surveillance system of the China Disease Control and Prevention Information Management System. Descriptive epidemiological methods were used to analyze the temporal, spatial and demographic distribution characteristics of hepatitis C. ResultsA total of 2 326 cases of hepatitis C were reported in Jinhua from 2005 to 2023, including 2 death cases, with an average annual incidence rate of 2.19/100 000, showing a trend which rose first and then declined and then rose again. Hepatitis C was reported all the year round without significant seasonal pattern. In terms of the number of reported cases and the average annual incidence rate, Yiwu City ranked the first place. From 2005 to 2023, a total of 1 438 (61.82%) male cases and 888 (38.18%) female cases were reported, and the reported incidence rate was higher for males (2.62/100 000) than that for females (1.74/100 000), showing a statistically significant difference (χ²=92.937, P<0.001). Most cases aged between 30 to <50 years old (1 175, 50.52%), and the incidence rate of hepatitis C among the age group of 40‒<50, 50‒<60, 60‒<70 years old was showing an upward trend, with farmers (1 024, 44.02%) as the main occupation . ConclusionThe prevalence of hepatitis C in Jinhua City is generally at a low level, with an incidence rate of increasing and then decreasing, but rise up again after 2019. Therefore, epidemic surveillance and health education among the male, middle-aged and elderly people and farmers, as well as the key regions where the migrant workers flows in should be enhanced.

Objective: To evaluate the incremental vaccine effectiveness (VE) of two dose of the mumps containing vaccine (MuCV) in chidren, so as to provide a basis for optimizing mumps immunization strategies. Methods: A 1∶2 frequency matched case-control study was conducted by using reported mumps cases in childcare centers or schools from Lu an, Hefei, Ma anshan and Huainan cities of Anhui Province from September 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, as a case group(383 cases). And healthy children in the same classroom were selected as a control group(766 cases). The MuCV immunization histories of participants were collected to estimate the incremental VE of the second dose of MuCV against mumps. Group comparisons were performed using the Chi square test or t-test. For matched case-control pairs, the Cox regression model was employed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for two dose MuCV vaccination and to estimate the incremental vaccine effectiveness (VE). Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the case and control groups regarding gender, age, dosage of MuCV vaccination and the time interval since the last dose vaccination( χ 2/t=0.05, 0.20, 0.94, -0.02, P >0.05). The proportions of the case and control groups vaccinated with two doses of MuCV were 26.63% and 29.37%, respectively, and the overall incremental VE of the second dose of MuCV was 40.73% (95% CI=3.03%-63.77%, P <0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed that the incremental VE for children with a period of ≥1 year between the two doses of MuCV was 54.13% (95% CI=1.90%-78.56%, P <0.05), while for children with a period of <1 year, it was 30.63% (95% CI=-28.59%-62.58%, P >0.05). The incremental VE of the second dose of MuCV was 30.36% (95% CI=-25.95%-61.50%, P >0.05) in kindergarten children and 66.73% (95% CI=14.92%-86.99%, P <0.05) in elementary and secondary school students. The incremental VE was 28.78% (95% CI=-27.46%-60.21%, P >0.05) within five years of the last dose of MuCV vaccination and 66.07% (95% CI=-41.56%-91.87%, P >0.05) for vaccinations administered beyond five years. Conclusions The second dose of MuCV may offer additional protection for children; however, extending the interval between two dose of MuCV (<1 year) has shown limited incremental protective effects. Therefore, it is crucial to consider optimizing current immunization strategies for mumps.

Parkinson’s disease (PD), the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease, manifests a variety of motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, resting tremor, rigidity, postural balance disorder, and also presents non-motor symptoms, including cognitive decline, depression, constipation, and sleep disorders. Currently, treatment for PD primarily encompasses pharmacological interventions, with levodopa being the first-line therapy, and non-pharmacological approaches such as deep brain stimulation (DBS). However, both approaches exhibit therapeutic limitations, with potential adverse reactions emerging from long-term use. Levodopa is associated with dyskinesia, while DBS may lead to mental confusion, cognitive decline, and depression. Exercise, as an effective adjuvant strategy for drug treatment of PD, can significantly improve PD motor disorders. Recently, studies have found that the mechanisms of exercise improving PD motor symptoms are associated with exerkines. Exerkine refers to signalling moieties secreted in response to acute and/or chronic exercise. This review mainly summarizes the improvement of PD motor disorders by various exerkines and the underlying mechanisms. Firstly, exercise can trigger the secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in the substantia nigra (SN) and the striatum, potentially improving PD. Recent evidence has suggested that both BDNF and GDNF could improve motor symptoms of PD via restoring the number of dopaminergic neurons in the SN and striatum, increasing striatal dopamine contents, and reducing α-synuclein (α-syn) accumulation in the SN. In addition, BDNF also alleviates motor symptoms of PD by enhancing long-term potentiation and increasing the spine density of spiny projection neurons in the striatum, while GDNF by inhibiting neuroinflammation in the SN via suppressing the activation of microglia, reducing interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expressions, reducing the phosphorylation of inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa Bα (IκBα), and increasing the anti-inflammatory factors IL-10 and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Secondly, exercise, a main trigger for irisin secretion from skeletal muscle, can improve PD motor symptoms by stimulating the irisin/adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) pathway. Specifically, irisin alleviates motor symptoms in PD through multiple mechanisms, including inhibiting excessive mitochondrial fission by reducing the expressions of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) and mitochondrial fission protein 1 (Fis1), alleviating the apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons by increasing B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression and reducing Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and caspase 3 expressions, and restoring the number of dopaminergic neurons. Thirdly, new biomarkers of PD (cathepsin B and Fetuin-A) also play roles in PD development. Cathepsin B can promote the clearance of pathogenic α-syn in PD by enhancing the function of lysosomes, including strengthening the lysosomal degradation capacity, elevating the transport rate, and increasing the activity of lysosomal glucocerebrosidase (GCase). Fetuin-A has been demonstrated to improve PD by restoring the number and the morphology of Purkinje cells, which are the only efferent neurons in the cerebellar cortex and play an important role in maintaining motor coordination. This review aims to facilitate a deep understanding of the mechanism by which exercise improves PD motor symptoms and provide a theoretical basis for promotion of exercise in PD.

Platycodonis Radix is the dry root of Platycodon grandiflorum of Campanulaceae, which has a variety of pharmacological effects and is a commonly used bulk Chinese medicine. In this study, the chloroplast genome sequences of six P. grandiflorum from different producing areas has been sequenced with Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform. The specific DNA barcodes were screened, and the germplasm resources and genetic diversity were analyzed according to the specific barcodes. The total length of the chloroplast genome of 6 P. grandiflorum samples was 172 260-172 275 bp, and all chloroplast genomes showed a typical circular tetrad structure and encoded 141 genes. The comparative genomics analysis and results of amplification efficiency demonstrated that trnG-UCC and ndhG_ndhF were the potential specific DNA barcodes for identification the germplasm resources of P. grandiflorum. A total of 305 P. grandiflorum samples were collected from 15 production areas in 9 provinces, for which the fragments of trnG-UCC and ndhG_ndhF were amplificated and the sequences were analyzed. The results showed that trnG-UCC and ndhG_ndhF have 5 and 11 mutation sites, respectively, and 5 and 7 haplotypes were identified, respectively. The combined analysis of the two sequences formed 13 haplotypes (named Hap1-Hap13), and Hap4 is the main genotype, followed by Hap1. The unique haplotypes possessed by the three producing areas can be used as DNA molecular tags in this area to distinguish from the germplasm resources of P. grandiflorum from other areas. The haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity and genetic distance were 0.94, 4.79×10^-3 and 0.000 0-0.020 3, respectively, suggesting that the genetic diversity was abundant and intraspecific kinship was relatively close. This study laid a foundation for the identification of P. grandiflorum, the protection and utilization of germplasm resources, and molecular breeding.

Objective: To investigate the differences and diversity changes in gut microbiota between children and adolescents with constipation and diarrhea, and healthy individuals, and to explore the correlation between changes in stool consistency and gut microbiota, in order to provide a scientific reference for the research on intestinal microecology among children and adolescents. Methods: From October 2021 to March 2022, a total of 42 children and adolescents with constipation and 37 with diarrhea from a tertiary hospital in Hangzhou City, and 43 healthy individuals from 3 primary and secondary schools were included in this study. Fecal samples of children and adolescents were collected and then stool genomic DNA was extracted for 16S rRNA gene high throughput sequencing, and the sequencing results were analyzed. In the analysis of alpha diversity, the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was used to compare the differences between the three groups, and the FDR multiple testing correction was used for pairwise comparisons. In the analysis of beta diversity, the Adonis test was used to compare the overall differences between the three groups, and the ANOSIM test was used for pairwise comparisons. In the LEfSe analysis, the LDA scores obtained through LDA analysis (linear regression analysis). Results: Alpha diversity analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in the Shannon index (4.01, 3.81, 4.19) and Simpson index (0.05, 0.06, 0.04) between the diarrhea group, constipation group, and healthy group ( H=6.05, 6.35, P <0.1). Further pairwise comparison showed that the Shannon index and Simpson index of the healthy group were higher than those of the constipation group ( P <0.1). Beta diversity analysis showed that the impact of grouping factors on inter group differences was statistically significant ( R 2=0.045, P <0.1). Community composition analysis showed that there were 234 species in total among the three groups, and 36 unique species in the healthy group, 36 species in the diarrhea group, and 48 species in the constipation group. Species difference analysis showed significant differences in species composition at the genus level among the three groups ( H=0.000 05, 0.000 16, 0.000 20, 0.000 21, 0.000 53, 0.001 39, P <0.1), including Lachnospiraceae of Firmicutes phylum, Eubacterium hallii, Veillonellaceae, Qscillospiraceae, Butyricicoccaceae and Staphylococcaceae, respectively. KEGG abundance statistics and COG functional analysis showed that there were no significant differences in gene expression abundance of the same function among the three groups ( P >0.1). Conclusions The different stool consistency of children and adolescents is related to changes in gut microbiota composition. Compared to the healthy group, children with constipation or diarrhea have disrupted gut microbiota balance, with a shift in dominant bacteria and a higher abundance of opportunistic pathogens.

Objective To explore a precise method with a microwave antenna for puncture of pulmonary nodules and analyze phenomena that affect the puncture results. Methods Clinical data of 107 cases with solitary malignant pulmonary nodules were collected, and the mean length of pulmonary nodules was 13.6±0.6 mm in CT axial position. A thread-hanging method was used to assist the puncture of pulmonary nodules. The procedure was successful when the needle was not withdrawn and inserted into the central region of the nodule. The success rate and complications of the pulmonary procedure were recorded. The incidence of the following phenomena were also documented: needle coercing, needle slipping, needle tip pushing, pulmonary nodule prolapsing, radial nodule deformation, nodular masking, and radial movement distance of needle tip. Results In all of 107 cases evaluated, the antenna puncture was successful in 101 cases (94.4%) but failed in 6 cases (5.6%). Pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage occurred in 23 (21.5%) and 19 cases (17.8%), respectively. The following phenomena occurred: needle coercing in 9 cases (8.4%), needle slipping in 6 cases (5.6%), needle tip pushing in 19 cases (17.8%), pulmonary nodule prolapsing in 15 cases (14%), radial nodule deformation in 14 cases (13.1%), and nodular masking in 5 cases (4.7%). The mean radial adjusting distance of needle tip was 0.7±0.4 cm. Conclusion The thread-hanging method can assist in the accurate puncture of microwave antenna for pulmonary nodules. We should focus and deal with phenomena that may occur and affect the result of puncture.

To deeply explore the load experience of primary caregivers of colorectal stoma patients, analyze their psychological load, understand their load experience when caring for patients, so as to provide theoretical basis for promoting patients’ home rehabilitation and continuous nursing. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the primary caregivers of 10 patients with permanent stoma in a tertiary hospital in Xi’an using a phenomenological research method, and the data were summarized and refined by Colaizzi 7-step analysis. A total of four themes were extracted: complex emotional reactions, lack of knowledge about stoma care, a huge care load on the shoulder, and social and financial support needed. The primary caregivers of colorectal stoma patients have a certain degree of care load in the daily care of the patients. Health care professionals should pay attention to the psycho-emotional changes of these individuals and take targeted interventions to reduce the psychological load of the caregivers and improve the quality of life of the patients and their caregivers.

Aim To anticipate the mechanism of zuka- mu granules (ZKMG) in the treatment of bronchial asthma, and to confirm the projected outcomes through in vivo tests via using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. Methods The database was examined for ZKMG targets, active substances, and prospective targets for bronchial asthma. The protein protein interaction network diagram (PPI) and the medication component target network were created using ZKMG and the intersection targets of bronchial asthma. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomics (KEGG) and gene ontology (GO) were used for enrichment analysis, and network pharmacology findings were used for molecular docking, ovalbumin (OVA) intraperitoneal injection was used to create a bronchial asthma model, and in vivo tests were used to confirm how ZKMG affected bronchial asthma. Results There were 176 key targets for ZKMG's treatment of bronchial asthma, most of which involved biological processes like signal transduction, negative regulation of apoptotic processes, and angiogenesis. ZKMG contained 194 potentially active components, including quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, and other important components. Via signaling pathways such TNF, vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), cancer pathway, and MAPK, they had therapeutic effects on bronchial asthma. Conclusion Key components had strong binding activity with appropriate targets, according to molecular docking data. In vivo tests showed that ZKMG could reduce p-p38, p-ERKl/2, and p-I