Objective: To analyze the association between alcohol consumption and lumbar disc herniation (LDH), so as to provide a reference for the development of prevention and treatment strategies for LDH. Methods: From May to July 2022, permanent residents aged ≥18 years from eight counties (cities/districts) in Gansu Province were selected using a multistage stratified random sampling method. Data on basic characteristics, alcohol consumption in the past 30 days, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were collected through questionnaire surveys. LDH was determined based on imaging findings, combined with disease history or clinical symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between alcohol consumption and LDH, with subgroup analyses conducted by gender, age, ethnicity, and altitude of residence. Propensity score matching (PSM) was utilized for sensitivity analysis. Results: A total of 4 545 individuals were surveyed. There were 2 026 (44.58%) males and 2 519 (55.42%) females. The mean age was (44.82±15.33) years. The study participants were predominantly of Han ethnicity, with 2 598 persons accounting for 57.17%. The altitude of residence was mainly above 3 500 m, with 1 941 persons accounting for 42.71%. There were 574 alcohol drinkers, accounting for 12.63%. LDH was detected in 1 035 cases, with a detection rate of 22.77%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for gender, age, physical activity, and hypertension, compared to non-drinking residents, alcohol-consuming residents exhibited a 27.6% reduction in the risk of LDH (OR=0.724, 95%CI: 0.544-0.963). No significant interaction effects on LDH risk were observed between alcohol consumption and gender, age, ethnicity, or altitude of residence (all Pfor interaction >0.05). The results of the sensitivity analysis indicated that compared to non-drinking residents, alcohol-consuming residents exhibited a 38.8% reduction in the risk of LDH (OR=0.612, 95%CI: 0.382-0.976). Conclusion Alcohol consumption was statistically associated with a lower risk of LDH.

The interactions between microorganisms and medicinal plants are crucial to the quality improvement of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants attract microorganisms to colonize by secreting specific compounds and provide niche and nutrient support for these microorganisms, with a symbiotic network formed. These microorganisms grow in the rhizosphere, phyllosphere, and endophytic tissues of plants and significantly improve the growth performance and medicinal component accumulation of medicinal plants by promoting nutrient uptake, enhancing disease resistance, and regulating the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Microorganisms are also widely used in the ecological planting of medicinal plants, and the growth conditions of medicinal plants are optimized by simulating the microbial effects in the natural environment. The interactions between microorganisms and medicinal plants not only significantly improve the yield and quality of medicinal plants but also enhance their geoherbalism, which is in line with the concept of green agriculture and eco-friendly development. This study reviewed the research results on the interactions between medicinal plants and microorganisms in recent years and focused on the analysis of the great potential of microorganisms in optimizing the growth environment of medicinal plants, regulating the accumulation of secondary metabolites, inducing systemic resistance, and promoting the ecological planting of medicinal plants. It provides a scientific basis for the research on the interactions between medicinal plants and microorganisms, the research and development of microbial agents, and the application of microorganisms in the ecological planting of medicinal plants and is of great significance for the quality improvement of medicinal plants and the green and sustainable development of TCM resources.
Plants, Medicinal/metabolism* ; Bacteria/genetics* ; Symbiosis

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are a heterogeneous group of diseases that affect the temporomandibular joint, chewing muscle system, dental occlusion, and even various structures throughout the body, with significant characteristics of biological-psychological-social pattern. TMD related chronic pain, as the most important clinical symptom, can result in negative emotions seriously affecting patients′ quality of life and physical and mental health. Although a variety of therapies have been previously reported to treat TMD related chronic pain, there is a lack of widely recognized therapies. Professor Jason W Busse (from Michael G DeGroote National Pain Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton ON, Canada) took the lead and collaborated with multiple internationally renowned schools/hospitals of stomatology to develop an international consensus on the management of chronic pain associated with TMD, a clinical practice guideline, which took two years and was published in December 15th, 2023 in a global top journal of clinical research The British Medical Journal. This clinical practice guideline explored the comparative effectiveness of available therapies for chronic pain associated with TMD, conditionally recommended the specific intervention for different treatment or pain relief, proposed a comprehensive, agreed, and standardized clinical practice guideline. This present article describes the methodology and key elements of the clinical practice guideline to help clinicians fully understand and appropriately apply this guidance, which could provide the references for clinical practice of TMD associated chronic pain in China.

Cinnamomum camphora is an important economic tree species in China. According to the type and content of main components in the volatile oil of leaf, C. camphora were divided into five chemotypes, including borneol-type, camphor-type, linalool-type, cineole-type, and nerolidol-type. Terpene synthase(TPS) is the key enzyme for the formation of these compounds. Although several key enzyme genes have been identified, the biosynthetic pathway of(+)-borneol, which has the most economic value, has not been reported. In this study, nine terpenoid synthase genes CcTPS1-CcTPS9 were cloned through transcriptome analysis of four chemical-type leaves. After the recombinant protein was induced by Escherichia coli, geranyl pyrophosphate(GPP) and farnesyl pyrophosphate(FPP) were used as substrates for enzymatic reaction, respectively. Both CcTPS1 and CcTPS9 could catalyze GPP to produce bornyl pyrophosphate, which could be hydrolyzed by phosphohydrolase to obtain(+)-borneol, and the product of(+)-borneol accounted for 0.4% and 89.3%, respectively. Both CcTPS3 and CcTPS6 could catalyze GPP to generate a single product linalool, and CcTPS6 could also react with FPP to generate nerolidol. CcTPS8 reacted with GPP to produce 1,8-cineol(30.71%). Nine terpene synthases produced 9 monoterpene and 6 sesquiterpenes. The study has identified the key enzyme genes responsible for borneol biosynthesis in C. camphora for the first time, laying a foundation for further elucidating the molecular mechanism of chemical type formation and cultivating new varieties of borneol with high yield by using bioengineering technology.
Cinnamomum camphora/enzymology* ; Alkyl and Aryl Transferases/chemistry*

The twenty-first century has already recorded more than ten major epidemics or pandemics of viral disease, including the devastating COVID-19. Novel effective antivirals with broad-spectrum coverage are urgently needed. Herein, we reported a novel broad-spectrum antiviral compound PAC5. Oral administration of PAC5 eliminated HBV cccDNA and reduced the large antigen load in distinct mouse models of HBV infection. Strikingly, oral administration of PAC5 in a hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 omicron (BA.1) infection significantly decreases viral loads and attenuates lung inflammation. Mechanistically, PAC5 binds to a pocket near Asp49 in the RNA recognition motif of hnRNPA2B1. PAC5-bound hnRNPA2B1 is extensively activated and translocated to the cytoplasm where it initiates the TBK1-IRF3 pathway, leading to the production of type I IFNs with antiviral activity. Our results indicate that PAC5 is a novel small-molecule agonist of hnRNPA2B1, which may have a role in dealing with emerging infectious diseases now and in the future.
Animals ; Mice ; Antiviral Agents/pharmacology* ; COVID-19 ; Hepatitis B virus ; Interferon Type I/metabolism* ; SARS-CoV-2/drug effects* ; Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B/antagonists & inhibitors*

Papilla preservation in periodontal surgery is not only beneficial to maintain postoperative aesthetics and good oral hygiene but also contributes to obtaining good periodontal regeneration outcomes. Various periodontal flaps have been designed to preserve the gingival papilla, which constitutes the clinical basis for periodontal open flap debridement and periodontal regeneration surgery. A comprehensive understanding of their design purpose, indications, and technical key points will help clinicians to choose the optimal surgical plan, and thus improve the clinician's treatment levels, and obtain good clinical outcomes. Therefore, this article aims to introduce the design background, indications, and technical key points of various surgical flaps, such as papilla preservation technique, modified papilla preservation technique, simplified papilla preservation flap, etc.

Objective:To explore the effect of clinical conventional fractionated dose radiation on the expression levels of immunogenic cell death (ICD) related proteins in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods:A total of 38 newly-treated NPC patients admitted to the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from November 2020 to December 2021 were enrolled, all of whom received induction chemotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy, and another 20 healthy volunteers were selected as controls for a prospective study. The contents of ICD related proteins, namely calreticulin (CRT), high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB-1) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and the proportion of dendritic cell (DC) in the peripheral blood of patients were detected before treatment, after induction chemotherapy and after concurrent chemoradiotherapy, respectively. The correlation between the above indicators, general clinical data and short-term efficacy was analyzed by statistical methods such as t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results:The levels of HSP70 and HMGB-1 in peripheral blood of NPC patients before treatment were higher than those of healthy controls (both P<0.05). After concurrent chemoradiotherapy, the content of CRT was significantly higher than that before treatment ( P<0.05), whereas the difference before and after induction chemotherapy and the difference before and after concurrent chemoradiotherapy were not significantly correlated with the short-term efficacy of NPC patients. HSP70 level was significantly decreased after concurrent chemoradiotherapy ( P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the content of HMGB-1 after induction chemotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (both P>0.05). Conclusion:NPC patients receiving TPF regimen (docetaxel+cisplatin+fluorouracil) for induction chemotherapy and sequential cisplatin concurrent chemotherapy may induce ICD in NPC cells, and CRT has potential value in reflecting the clinical efficacy of NPC.

Aim To investigate the effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitor AG1478 combined with oxaliplatin (OXA) on apoptosis of colorectal cancer HCT116 cells. Methods MTT assay was used to measure the effect of AG1478 combined with OXA on proliferation of HCT116 cells. RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of p53, caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax. Western blot was used to detect the proteins expression of p53, caspase-3, cleaved-caspase 3, Bcl-2, Bax, p62, LC3 and IL-6. Results Both OXA and AG1478 inhibited the proliferation of HCT116 (P < 0. 01). IC

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Zuogui pills from the Kidney-tonifying and Nourishing Yin formula, in combination with the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone antagonist cetrorelix, affected the ovarian local oxidative stress response in decreasing ovarian reserve (DOR) mice. All animal experiments were carried out in accordance with the guidelines and standards established by Jinan University's Experimental Animal Management Committee. Cyclophosphamide (CTX)-treated DOR mice were given Zuogui pills, cetrorelix, or a combination of the two drugs intragastrically. After treatment, there were changes in the estrous cycle, serum sex hormone levels, oxidative stress-related indexes, growth biochemical factor levels, and SIRT1/P53/P21 expression. In comparison to the model group, the Zuogui pills and the cetrorelix+Zuogui pills group had significantly prolonged estrous periods and shortened interestrous periods, and the cetrorelix+Zuogui pills group had a significantly shortened cycle length. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) decreased and estradiol (E₂) increased in all treatment groups compared to the model group, oxidative stress indexes nitric oxide synthase (NOS), nitric oxide (NO), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) decreased, growth biochemical factors brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF-9) concentrations increased significantly, and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) showed no significant change. SIRT1/P53/P21 immunohistochemical results revealed that, when compared to the model group, the expression of SIRT1 increased while the expression of P53 and P21 proteins decreased in all treatment groups, with the cetrorelix+Zuogui pills group having the largest decrease, with significant differences in all indicators. We conclude that cetrorelix combined with Zuogui pills for kidney nourishing and Yin recipe improved the oxidative stress response in the follicle by regulating the SIRT1/P53/P21 pathway, reducing peroxide product production, protecting ovarian function, and regulating ovarian hormone secretion, and its efficacy is superior to that of cetrorelix or Zuogui pills alone.

The UHPLC-LTQ-orbitrap-MS metabolomics technique was used to determine the effect of deapio-platycodin D (DPD) on endogenous metabolites in lung tissues of mice with ammonia-induced cough, and to identify the metabolic regulatory pathways of DPD in its antitussive and expectorant activities. This work was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine (Approval No. JZLLSC-20190235). Metabolites were identified by UHPLC-LTQ-orbitrap-MS method and the metabolic pathways related to differentially-expressed metabolites were analyzed by the MetaboAnalyst platform. DPD significantly prolonged (P < 0.05) cough latency, reduced the number of coughs, and significantly increased (P < 0.05) phenol red excretion in ammonia-induced cough mice. Twenty-five metabolites related to cough and 38 metabolites related to sputum excretion were identified by UHPLC-LTQ-orbitrap-MS. Changes in the metabolism of linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, glycerophospholipid, alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, and lysine degradation were evident with DPD treatment of ammonia-induced cough mice. Changes in the metabolism of linoleic acid, taurine and hypotaurine, glycerophospholipid, purines and pyrimidines, arachidonic acid and the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids after DPD treatment were related to phenol red excretion. Linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism are common regulatory pathways by which DPD appears to exert its antitussive and expectorant activity. These metabolic pathways are closely related to anti-inflammatory pathways, immune function regulation, neurotransmitter release, cell signal transduction, energy metabolism and apoptosis. This study clarifies the antitussive and expectorant activity and mechanism of DPD.