Objective To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of acellular nerve allografts(ANA)combined with electroacupuncture on spinal ganglia in rats with sciatic nerve injury(SNI).Methods Totally 50 male adult SD rats were randomly selected for this experiment.Ten rats were prepared for the ANA.Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into normal group,model group,ANA group and combinational group,with 10 rats in each group.The SNI model was established by cutting off the nerves 10 mm at the 5 mm on the inferior border of piriformis after separating the right sciatic nerves.The rats in the ANA group were bridged with ANA to the two broken ends of injured nerves.The rats in the combinational group were treated with electroacupuncture 2 days after ANA bridging,Huantiao(GB30)and Yanglingquan(GB34)were performed as the acupuncture points,each electroacupuncture lasted 15 minutes and 7 days as a course of treatment,4 courses in all.Sciatic nerve conduction velocity was measured by electrophysiology to evaluate the regeneration of damaged axons.Morphology of spinal ganglia was observed by Nissl staining.The expression of nerve growth factor(NGF)and brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)were detected by Western blotting and immunofluorescent staining.Results Compared with the normal group,the sciatic nerve conduction velocity in model group decreased significantly(P<0.01),Nissl bodies in neurons of spinal ganglia were swollen and dissolved,with incomplete structure and the number decreased dramatically(P<0.01),while the level of NGF and BDNF also decreased significantly(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the sciatic nerve conduction velocity in ANA and combinational groups strongly increased(P<0.01),the damage of Nissl bodies in neurons of spinal ganglia reduced and the number obviously increased(P<0.01),the level of NGF and BDNF increased considerably(P<0.01).Compared with the ANA group,the sciatic nerve conduction velocity in combinational group increased significantly(P<0.01),the morphology of Nissl bodies in neurons of spinal ganglia were more regular and the number increased(P<0.01),moreover,the level of NGF also increased significantly(P<0.01).Conclusion ANA combined with electroacupuncture can enhance the sciatic nerve conduction velocity,improve the morphology of neurons in spinal ganglia and play a protective effect on spinal ganglia.The mechanism can be related to the higher expression of NGF and BDNF proteins,especially the expression of NGF protein.

The World Health Organization has declared that the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) is a global pandemic. As mutations occurred in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the global epidemic still needs further concern. Worryingly, the effectiveness and neutralizing activity of existing antibodies and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants is declining. There is an urgent need to find an effective antiviral medication with broad-spectrum inhibitory effects on novel coronavirus mutant strains against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Neutralizing antibodies play an important role in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The interaction of spike-receptor-binding domain (Spike-RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the first and critical step of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Hence, the SARS-CoV-2 Spike-RBD is a hot target for neutralizing antibodies development. Evusheld, the combination of Tixagevimab and Cilgavimab monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting Spike-RBD exhibits neutralizing activity against BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5, which could be used as pre-exposure prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The nucleocapsid (N) protein is a conservative and high-abundance structural protein of SARS-CoV-2. The nCoV396 monoclonal antibody, isolated from the blood of convalescent COVID-19 patients against the N protein of SARS-CoV-2. This mAb not only showed neutralizing activity but also inhibits hyperactivation of complement and lung injury induced by N protein. The mAb 3E8 targeting ACE2 showed broadly neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 and D614G, B.1.1.7, B.1.351, B.1.617.1 and P.1 variants in vitro and in vivo, but did not impact the biological activity of ACE2. Compared with neutralizing antibodies, small molecule inhibitors have several advantages, such as broad-spectrum inhibitory effect, low cost, and simple administration methods. Several small-molecule inhibitors disrupt viral binding by targeting the ACE2 and N-terminal domain (NTD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Known drugs such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could also block the infection of SARS-CoV-2 by interacting with residue Lys353 in the peptidase domain of ACE2. The transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) inhibitors Camostat mesylate and Proxalutamide inhibit infection by blocking TMPRSS2 mediates viral membrane fusion. The main protease inhibitor Paxlovid and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor Azvudine have been approved for treatment of COVID-19 patients. This review summarizes the current research status of neutralizing antibodies and small molecule inhibitors and prospects for their application. We expect to provide more valuable information for further studies in this field.

Objective To establish a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS)method for simultaneous determination of meropenem,linezolid,voriconazole and posaconazole in children with small volume of plasma,and to use the method in children therapeutic drug monitoring(TDM).Methods The plasma samples were precipitated protein by methanol.And then,the analytes were gradient eluted on an EVO-C18 column by HPLC-MS/MS with mobile phase consisted of water(0.1％formic acid)-acetonitrile(0.1％formic acid)at the flow rate of 0.5 mL·min 1.Ions were monitored in the multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)mode,using positive ion electrospray ionization(ESI).Results Meropenem had a good liner relationship in 0.5-64.0 μg·mL-1(r=0.999 2),0.2-25.6 μg·mL-1 for linezolid and voriconazole(r=0.999 2,r=0.999 9),and 0.1-12.8 μg·mL-1 for posaconazole(r=0.998 9).Accuracy,precision,matrix effect and stability studies all met the requirements.This method was fully verified,and applied to determine the plasma antimicrobial concentrations of 49 pediatric patients.Conclusion The method is simple,rapid,sensitive and suitable for children's plasma concentration monitoring of four antimicrobials.

italic>Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A. DC is one of the most commonly used bulk medicinal herbs. It has important value in the fields of medicine, food and cosmetics, and its market demand is increasing year by year, and it has a good development prospect. In this study, based on 403 distribution records and 8 environmental variables, we used Maxent model to predict the potential distribution of P. grandiflorum under climate change. The results showed that the model simulation effect was the best when the Maxent parameter was FC (feature combination) = LQPH (L: linear features; Q: quadratic features; P: product features; H: hinge features) and RM (regularization multiplier) = 2.1, AUC (area under curve) = 0.901, and the model prediction showed that P. grandiflorum was widely distributed in 28 provinces of China under the current climate conditions, with a suitable area of 2 337 419.98 km². Under the influence of climate change in the future, the area of suitable habitat of P. grandiflorum showed a decreasing trend, and the distribution center as a whole showed a trend of northward and eastward shift. The distribution area of P. grandiflorum in the three main producing areas is affected by climate change, and the overall trend is that the future suitable distribution area of Chifeng in Inner Mongolia increases, while the future suitable distribution area of Zibo in Shandong and Taihe, Bozhou in Anhui decreases or even disappears under the SSP5-8.5 scenario (shared socioeconomic pathways). It is suggested to maintain and protect the ecological environment and germplasm resources of the reserved area suitable for the growth of P. grandiflorum, and increase the cultivation research in the expansion area of P. grandiflorum, so as to lay a foundation for the subsequent expansion of P. grandiflorum planting and to promote the protection and sustainable development of P. grandiflorum resources.

Pharmaceutical cocrystals is an advanced technology to improve the physicochemical and biological properties of drugs. However, there are few studies on the in vivo metabolism of pharmaceutical cocrystals. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of wogonin cocrystal in normal rats was further studied on the basis of the previous preparation of wogonin-aloperine cocrystal. Firstly, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established for simultaneous determination of wogonin and its metabolite wogonoside in rat plasma, and to investigate the methodology. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of wogonin-aloperine cocrystal (Wog-Alop) in rats. The results showed that wogonin and its metabolite wogonoside had a good linear relationship in the range of 1-800 ng·mL^-1, and the precision, accuracy, matrix effect and stability in this range met the requirements of biological analysis. Compared with direct administration of wogonin, the C_max of wogonin and its metabolite in rats increased to 7.44-fold and 9.15-fold, AUC_0-t increased to 1.67-fold and 3.72-fold, and oral bioavailability of wogonin increased to 187.66% after cocrystal administration. Wog-Alop cocrystal can significantly improve the C_max, AUC, and oral bioavailability of wogonin and its metabolite, which provides a new perspective for the clinical application of wogonin. This study was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Review Committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (approval number: BUCM-2023032307-1148).

Brasilicardin A, a diterpene glycoside isolated from pathogenic actinomycete Nocardia brasiliensis IFM 0406, has become a novel immunosuppressant candidate due to its significant immunosuppressive activity, low toxicity and unique mechanism of action. However, brasilicardin A and its analogues have become a research hotspot to the development of this promising immunosuppressant because of the low-yield production in the natural pathogenic producer and the synthetically challenging skeleton. According to the reported biosynthetic pathway of brasilicardin A, the function of involved diterpene synthase was analyzed by bioinformatics. Then the genes bra1-5 that synthesize the brasilicardin A skeleton were directionally amplified from the pathogenic strain N. brasiliensis IFM 0406, and heterologous expression was achieved successfully in Streptomyces albus R1. The compounds were isolated and purified by using various column chromatographies including silica gel column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. Six new brasilicardins were established and named brasilicardin H-M. The activity of brasilicardins was screened using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated mouse primary macrophage inflammation model. Brasilicardin H-M exhibited good inhibitory activity on nitric oxide (NO) release with IC₅₀ values of 28.24 ± 3.70, 37.44 ± 2.00, 39.85 ± 4.02, 26.77 ± 4.40, 65.25 ± 1.48 and 15.24 ± 2.72 μmol·L^-1, respectively (indomethacin as the positive control with IC₅₀ value of 34.28 ± 4.10 μmol·L^-1). The results indicated that six compounds had potential anti-inflammatory activity. This study laid a foundation for the elucidation of the brasilicardin A biosynthetic pathway and evaluation of the structure-activity relationship as well as new drug developments.

Objective To detect the expression changes of interleukin-10(IL-10)and transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)during the development of deep vein thrombosis in mice,and to explore the application value of them in thrombus age estimation.Methods The mice in the experimental group were subjected to ligation of inferior vena cava.The mice were sacrificed by excessive anesthesia at 1 d,3 d,5 d,7 d,10 d,14 d and 21 d after ligation,respectively.The inferior vena cava segment with thrombosis was extracted below the ligation point.The mice in the control group were not ligated,and the inferior vena cava segment at the same position as the experimental group was extracted.The ex-pression changes of IL-10 and TGF-β1 were detected by immunohistochemistry(IHC),Western blot-ting and real-time qPCR.Results IHC results revealed that IL-10 was mainly expressed in monocytes in thrombosis and TGF-β1 was mainly expressed in monocytes and fibroblast-like cells in thrombosis.Western blotting and real-time qPCR showed that the relative expression levels of IL-10 and TGF-β1 in each experimental group were higher than those in the control group.The mRNA and protein levels of IL-10 reached the peak at 7 d and 10 d after ligation,respectively.The mRNA expression level at 7 d after ligation was 4.72±0.15 times that of the control group,and the protein expression level at 10 d after ligation was 7.15±0.28 times that of the control group.The mRNA and protein levels of TGF-β1 reached the peak at 10 d and 14 d after ligation,respectively.The mRNA expression level at 10 d after ligation was 2.58±0.14 times that of the control group,and the protein expression level at 14 d after ligation was 4.34±0.19 times that of the control group.Conclusion The expressions of IL-10 and TGF-β1 during the evolution of deep vein thrombosis present time-dependent sequential changes,and the expression levels of IL-10 and TGF-β1 can provide a reference basis for thrombus age estimation.

Objective To investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 954 cases of central nervous system(CNS)infections in Chongqing.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 954 patients with CNS infectious disease diagnosed and treated in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from 2008 to 2021.The analysis encompassed pathogens,patient gender,age of onset,time of onset,urban-rural distribution,education level,occupational distribution,and other epidemiological characteristics.The clinical manifestations,the positive rate of metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS),and prognosis were also analyzed.Results Among the 945 cases of CNS infectious diseases,the pathogens were viruses in 393(41.2%),Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 361(37.8%),other bacteria in 108(11.3%),Cryptococcus in 75(7.9%),Treponema pallidum in 16(1.7%)and parasites in 1(0.1%).The number of CNS infection cases from 2015 to 2021 increased by 85.6%compared with that from 2008 to 2014(620 vs.334,P<0.001).There was no significant difference in seasonal distribution of pathogens(P>0.05).CNS infectious diseases were more prevalent in rural areas(58.0%,P<0.001),with a male-to-female ratio of 1.7:1.0,and a higher incidence in individuals aged between 35 and 60 years.The majority of patients were educated at Junior high school level or below(68.7%)and were farmers or workers(68.1%).Clinical symptoms of CNS infectious disease mainly included fever,headache,signs of meningeal irritation,nausea and vomiting,which could be accompanied by consciousness disorder and focal neurological deficits.mNGS significantly improves the accuracy of clinical diagnosis.The rate of good prognosis of CNS infectious diseases was 97.5%,while the mortality rate was 0.3%.Conclusions In Chongqing area,the categories and species of CNS infectious pathogens are diverse,widely prevalent,and the clinical manifestations are complex.Moreover,the number of cases has been increasing in recent years.Understanding the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of CNS infectious diseases can help to recognize the regional differences,promote early accurate diagnosis and treatment,and improve prognosis.

Objective To investigate the effects of α1-antitrypsin(AAT)on motor function in adult mice with immature brain white matter injury.Methods Five-day-old C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to the sham surgery group(n=27),hypoxia-ischemia(HI)+ saline group(n=27),and HI+AAT group(n=27).The HI white matter injury mouse model was established using HI methods.The HI+AAT group received intraperitoneal injections of AAT(50 mg/kg)24 hours before HI,immediately after HI,and 72 hours after HI;the HI+saline group received intraperitoneal injections of the same volume of saline at the corresponding time points.Brain T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed at 7 and 55 days after modeling.At 2 months of age,adult mice were evaluated for static,dynamic,and coordination parameters using the Catwalk gait analysis system.Results Compared to the sham surgery group,mice with HI injury showed high signal intensity on brain T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at 7 days after modeling,indicating significant white matter injury.The white matter injury persisted at 55 days after modeling.In comparison to the sham surgery group,the HI+saline group exhibited decreased paw print area,maximum contact area,average pressure,maximum pressure,paw print width,average velocity,body velocity,stride length,swing speed,percentage of gait pattern AA,and percentage of inter-limb coordination(left hind paw → left front paw)(P<0.05).The HI+saline group showed increased inter-paw distance,percentage of gait pattern AB,and percentage of phase lag(left front paw → left hind paw)compared to the sham surgery group(P<0.05).In comparison to the HI+saline group,the HI+ AAT group showed increased average velocity,body velocity,stride length,and swing speed(right front paw)(P<0.05).Conclusions The mice with immature brain white matter injury may exhibit significant motor dysfunction in adulthood,while the use of AAT can improve some aspects of their motor function.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):181-187]

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.