Due to the high similarity with the lipid layer between human skin keratinocytes, functional cosmetics with layered liquid crystal structure prepared by liquid crystal emulsification technology encapsulating natural active substances have become a hot research topic in recent years. This type of functional cosmetic often has a fresh and natural skin feel, excellent skin barrier repair function and efficient moisturizing effect, etc., showing great potential in cosmetic application. However, the present research on the application of liquid crystal emulsification technology to functional cosmetics is still in the initial stage, and there are fewer relevant reports with reference values. Based on the mentioned above, this review provides a comprehensive summary of functional cosmetics with layered liquid crystal structures prepared by liquid crystal emulsification technology from the following aspects: the structure of human skin, the composition of lamellar liquid crystal, the advantages of liquid crystal emulsification technology containing natural active substances used in the field of functional cosmetics, the preparation process, main components, influencing factors during the preparation and the market functional cosmetics with lamellar liquid crystal structure. Finally, the prospect of the application of liquid crystal emulsification technology in functional cosmetics is presented, to provide useful references for those engaged in the research of liquid crystal emulsification technology-related functional cosmetics.

Animals ; Macaca mulatta ; Optic Disk ; Glaucoma ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Intraocular Pressure ; Low Tension Glaucoma

Objective To investigate the efficacy of Fuzheng Hejie Prescription(composed of Scutellariae Radix,Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Agastachis Herba,Bupleuri Radix,Atractylodis Rhizoma,Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma,etc.)in the treatment of respiratory viral infections in children and to observe its effect on inflammatory factors and immune function.Methods A total of 203 children with respiratory viral infection of H1N1 virus were randomly divided into 101 cases in the observation group and 102 cases in the control group.Both groups were given the routine treatment for subsiding fever,maintaining water-electrolyte balance,and ensuring enough sleep.And additionally,the control group was given Ribavirin Granules and Ibuprofen Granules,and the observation group was given Fuzheng Hejie Prescription based on the treatment for the control group.The course of treatment covered 7 days.The changes of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores and the levels of immunological indicators and inflammatory factors in the two groups were observed before and after the treatment.Moreover,the clinical efficacy,symptom resolution time and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups of children.Results(1)In the course of the trial,one case fell off in the observation group and 2 cases fell off in the control group,and eventually 100 children in each group were included in the trial.(2)After 7 days of treatment,the total effective rate of the observation group was 93.00%(93/100),and that of the control group was 88.00%(88/100),and the intergroup comparison showed that the therapeutic effect of the observation group was superior to that of the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(χ2= 1.454,P = 0.228).(3)After treatment,the scores of primary symptoms and secondary symptoms as well as the total TCM syndrome scores in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(4)After treatment,the time for the resolution of clinical symptoms such as fever,cough,expectoration and sore throat in the observation group was significantly shorter than that in the control group(P＜0.01).(5)After treatment,the levels of immunological indicators of T lymphocyte subset CD3+ and CD4+ in the two groups were increased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the levels of CD8+ and B cells were decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05).The intergroup comparison showed that the increase in the levels of CD3+ and CD4+ as well as the decrease in the levels of CD8+ and B cells of the observation group was significantly superior to that of the control group(P＜0.01).(6)After treatment,the levels of inflammatory factors of serum amyloid A(SAA),C-reactive protein(CRP),serum tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α),soluble interleukin 2 receptor(SIL-2R),and interleukin 6(IL-6)in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the levels of interleukin 2(IL-2)and interferon γ(IFN-γ)ls were all significantly increased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05).The intergroup comparison showed that the decrease of serum SAA,CRP,TNF-α,SIL-2R,and IL-6 levels and the increase of serum IL-2 and IFN-γ levels in the observation group were significantly superior to those in the control group(P＜0.01).(7)The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 2.00%(2/100),which was significantly lower than that of 8.00%(8/100)in the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(χ2 = 3.789,P = 0.052).Conclusion Fuzheng Hejie Prescription exerts certain effect in treating children with respiratory viral infection of H1N1 virus,which can effectively decrease children's TCM syndrome scores,regulate the inflammatory response,improve the immune function,accelerate the relief of clinical symptoms and shorten the course of the disease.

There is a bidirectional relationship between intestinal flora and bile acids,and the imbalance of intestinal flora-bile acid axis metabolism is closely related to hypertension.Based on classical TCM literature and clinical practice,this article found that"earth deficiency"is the important pathological basis of hypertension,"wood depression"is the initiating factor of hypertension,and"earth deficiency and wood depression"is the key pathogenesis of hypertension.Combined with the research results of modern medicine and molecular biology,it is considered that the imbalance of intestinal flora and abnormal bile acid metabolism are closely related to the"earth deficiency"and"wood depression"of TCM respectively,and the imbalance of intestinal flora-bile acid axis coincides with the"earth deficiency and wood depression"of TCM in the process of hypertension.It is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore the biological connotation of hypertension"earth deficiency and wood depression"from the perspective of intestinal flora-bile acid axis for guiding TCM to prevent and treat hypertension.

Background: Twenty-four-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) measurement is the initial diagnostic test for Cushing’s syndrome (CS). We compared UFC determination by both direct and extraction immunoassays using Abbott Architect, Siemens Atellica Solution, and Beckman DxI800 with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, we evaluated the value of 24-hr UFC measured by six methods for diagnosing CS. Methods: Residual 24-hr urine samples of 94 CS and 246 non-CS patients were collected.A laboratory-developed LC-MS/MS method was used as reference. UFC was measured by direct assays (D) using Abbott, Siemens, and Beckman platforms and by extraction assays (E) using Siemens and Beckman platforms. Method was compared using Passing–Bablok regression and Bland–Altman plot analyses. Cut-off values for the six assays and corresponding sensitivities and specificities were calculated by ROC analysis. Results: Abbott-D, Beckman-E, Siemens-E, and Siemens-D showed strong correlations with LC-MS/MS (Spearman coefficient r = 0.965, 0.922, 0.922, and 0.897, respectively), while Beckman-D showed weaker correlation (r = 0.755). All immunoassays showed proportionally positive bias. The areas under the curve were 0.975 for Abbott-D, 0.972 for LCMS/MS, 0.966 for Siemens-E, 0.948 for Siemens-D, 0.955 for Beckman-E, and 0.877 for Beckman-D. The cut-off values varied significantly (154.8–1,321.5 nmol/24 hrs). Assay sensitivity and specificity ranged from 76.1% to 93.2% and from 93.0% to 97.1%, respectively. Conclusions Commercially available immunoassays for measuring UFC show different levels of analytical consistency compared to LC-MS/MS. Abbott-D, Siemens-E, and Beckman-E have high diagnostic accuracy for CS.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Zhengan Xifengtang on blood pressure and fecal microflora of spontaneously hypertensive rats （SHRs）. MethodA total of 75 male SHRs aged nine weeks were randomly divided into SHR group， Benazepril group （1.00 mg·kg^-1·d^-1）， high-dose Zhengan Xifengtang group （34.5 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， medium-dose Zhengan Xifengtang group （17.25 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and low-dose Zhengan Xifengtang group （8.625 g·kg^-1·d^-1）. A total of 15 male Wistar-Kyoto （WKY） rats aged nine weeks were selected as the normal group. The normal group and SHR group were administrated with an equal volume of distilled water for eight weeks. During the administration， the blood pressure of the rats was measured regularly. After the intervention， fresh feces were collected with a sterile frozen storage tube， and 16S amplicon information was collected and analyzed. Plasma， hippocampus， and ileum of rats were collected for ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-MS/MS） detection. ResultZhengan Xifengtang decreased the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure of SHRs. Compared with the SHR group， Zhengan Xifengtang decreased the diversity of fecal microflora of SHRs. At the phylum level， Zhengan Xifengtang increased the relative abundance of SHR Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria and decreased the relative abundance of Synergistetes， Tenericutes， and Candidatus Saccharibacteria. Compared with the SHR group， Zhengan Xifengtang increased the relative abundance of Blautia wexlerae， Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans， and Akkermansia muciniphila and decreased the relative abundance of Clostridium lavalense， Intestinimonas butyriciproducens， Acetatifactor muris， Alloprevotella rava， and Oscillibacter valericigenes. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the systolic blood pressure of rats was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of Ethanoligenens， Aerococcus， Butyrivibrio， Olsenella， Bifidobacterium， Clostridium XIVb， Allobaculum， and Fusicatenibacter and positively correlated with the relative abundance of Alloprevotella. Zhengan Xifengtang increased the contents of plasma， hippocampal 5-hydroxy tryptamine（5-HT）， and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid（5-HIAA） in SHRs and decreased the contents of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the ileum， and the content of 5-HT in the hippocampus was negatively correlated with that in the ileum. ConclusionZhengan Xifengtang can reduce the blood pressure of SHRs， which may be related to reducing the diversity of SHR microflora， regulating the structure of the microflora， increasing the relative abundance of 5-HT and short-chain fatty acids bacteria， and lowering the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria related to intestinal inflammation.

The breakage pattern of unit particles during the production of oral solid dosage forms (OSD) is closely related to the quality of intermediate or final products. To accurately characterize the particles and study the evolution law of particle breakage, the Bonding model of the discrete element method (DEM) was used to investigate the breakage patterns of model parameters, particle shape and process conditions (loading mode and loading rate) on the dynamic breakage, force-time curve, breakage rate, maximum breakage size ratio and fracture strength of particles. The results showed that the particle breakage force was positively correlated with normal strength and bonded disk scale, negatively correlated with normal stiffness per unit area and tangential stiffness per unit area, and weakly correlated with tangential strength. The particle breakage rate was negatively correlated with the aspect ratio of the particles, and the maximum breakage size ratio was positively correlated with the aspect ratio of the particles; among the three loading modes, the breakage rate of compression breakage model was the largest, the breakage rate of shear breakage model was the second largest, and the breakage rate of wear breakage model was the smallest; the maximum breakage size ratio was positively correlated with the loading rate, the loading mode and the loading rate had no mutual influence on particle breakage rate, but had mutual influence on the maximum breakage size ratio. The research results will provide a theoretical basis for the shift of OSD from batch manufacturing to advanced manufacturing.

In recent years, the development of host-acting antibacterial compounds has gradually become a hotspot in the field of anti-infection. Through research on the interaction mechanism between hosts and pathogenic bacteria, it has been found that the immune system is one of the key targets of host-acting antibacterial compounds. There is a communication system called the quorum sensing system in microorganisms, which mainly adjusts the structure of multi-microbial community and coordinates the group behavior. When the quorum sensing molecules secreted by microorganisms reach a threshold concentration, the quorum sensing system is activated and the overall gene expression of the microorganism is changed. In addition to regulating the density of microorganisms, quorum sensing molecules can also act as a link between pathogenic microorganisms and hosts, entering the host immune system and playing a role in affecting the morphological structure of immune cells, secreting cytokines, and inducing apoptosis, leading to host immune injury and causing host immune dysfunction.The key mechanism of 3-oxo-C12-HSL and other acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) molecules in the innate immune system has been extensively studied. The lipid solubility allows AHLs to pass through the plasma membrane of host immune cells easily and induce dissolution of lipid domains. Then, it acts through signaling pathways such as p38MAPK and JAK-STAT, further influencing the immune cell’s defense response to bacteria and potentially leading to cell apoptosis. Additionally, the human lactonase paraoxonase 2, which can degrade3-oxo-C12-HSL, has been found in macrophage. It acts as an immune regulator that promotes macrophage phagocytosis of pathogens and is hypothesized to have the ability to reduce bacterial resistance. The mechanism of quorum sensing molecules in the adaptive immune system is less studied, the current results suggest that 3-oxo-C12-HSL is closely related to the mitochondrial pathway in host immune cells. For example, 3-oxo-C12-HSL induces apoptosis of Jurkat cells by inhibiting the expression of three mitochondrial electron transport chain proteins; it can also trigger mitochondrial dysfunction and induce mast cell apoptosis through Ca²⁺ signaling.Among the quorum sensing molecules, the AHLs have the greatest impact on plant immune system. The different effects on plant resistance depends on the chain lengths of acyl groups in bacterial-produced AHLs. Short-chain AHLs (C4-HSL and C8-HSL) induce plant resistance to pathogenic bacteria mainly through the auxin pathway and jasmonic acid pathway. Long-chain AHL (3-oxo-C14-HSL) is commonly used in hosts against fungal pathogens by inducing stomata defense responses, and the reaction process is related to salicylic acid. Diffusible signal factor molecules also interfere with the stomatal immunity caused by pathogens. It may act through the formin nanoclustering-mediated actin assembly and MPK3 pathway to inhibit the innate immunity of Arabidopsis. In summary, AHLs induced different plant pathways and affects the plant-bacteria interactions to trigger plant immunity. As a quorum sensing molecule of fungi, farnesol has similar effects on host immunity as AHLs, such as stimulating cytokine secretion and activating an inflammatory response. It also plays a unique role on dendritic cell differentiation and maturation. In addition, studies have found that farnesol has a protective effect on autoimmune encephalomyelitis, which may be related to its effect on the composition of intestinal microorganisms of the host.Therefore, targeting the host immune system and quorum sensing molecules to develop antibacterial compounds can effectively inhibit the invasion of pathogens and subserve the host to resist the influence of pathogenic bacteria. This article will review the mechanism of host immune responses triggered by important quorum sensing molecules, aiming to explore the targets of host-acting antibacterial compounds and provide new directions for the prevention or treatment of causative infectious sources and the development of related drugs.

Objective:To describe the distribution of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] levels in non-arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) population in China and explore its influencing factors.Methods:This study was based on a nested case-control study in the CKB study measured plasma biomarkers. Lp(a) levels was measured using a polyclonal antibody-based turbidimetric assay certified by the reference laboratory and ≥75.0 nmol/L defined as high Lp(a). Multiple logistic regression model was used to examine the factors related to Lp(a) levels.Results:Among the 5 870 non-ASCVD population included in the analysis, Lp(a) levels showed a right-skewed distribution, with a M ( Q1, Q3) of 17.5 (8.8, 43.5) nmol/L. The multiple logistic regression analysis found that female was associated with high Lp(a) ( OR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.05-1.43). The risk of increased Lp(a) levels in subjects with abdominal obesity was significantly reduced ( OR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.52-0.89). As TC, LDL-C, apolipoprotein A1(Apo A1), and apolipoprotein B(Apo B) levels increased, the risk of high Lp(a) increased, with OR (95% CI) for each elevated group was 2.40 (1.76-3.24), 2.68 (1.36-4.93), 1.29 (1.03-1.61), and 1.65 (1.27-2.13), respectively. The risk of high Lp(a) was reduced in the HDL-C lowering group with an OR (95% CI) of 0.76 (0.61-0.94). In contrast, an increase in TG levels and the ratio of Apo A1/Apo B(Apo A1/B) was negatively correlated with the risk of high Lp(a), with OR (95% CI) of 0.73 (0.60-0.89) for elevated triglyceride group, and OR (95% CI) of 0.60 (0.50-0.72) for the Apo A1/B ratio increase group (linear trend test P≤0.001 except for Apo A1). However, no correlation was found between Lp(a) levels and lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, and physical activity. Conclusions:Lp(a) levels were associated with sex and abdominal obesity, but less with lifestyle behaviors.

[Objective] To explore the value of the TyG index for predicting postoperative recurrence in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) patients combined with on-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) undergoing catheter ablation. [Methods] This study was a single-center, retrospective, cohort study. Clinical data of patients who underwent catheter ablation during hospitalization or outpatient visits at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from January 2021 to December 2022 were retrospectively collected. The patients were divided into recurrence and non-recurrence groups based on whether AF recurred within 1 year after the procedure. General clinical data and relevant laboratory test results were collected, and the preoperative TyG index was calculated. The risk factors for AF recurrence after catheter ablation in these patients were analyzed using univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazards regression models. The value of the TyG index for predicting AF recurrence was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. [Results] We recruited 167 patients, among whom 103 were males and 64 were females. The mean follow-up time was 12±1.3 months, with 52 cases of AF recurrence and 115 ones of non-recurrence. Compared with the non-recurrence group, the TyG index was higher in the recurrence group (9.62±0.96 vs. 8.26±0.46, P<0.05). Multivariate COX regression analysis showed that the preoperative TyG index (HR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.10-1.60, P<0.05) and postoperative electrocardiogram P-wave dispersion (HR=1.51, 95% CI: 1.32-1.70, P<0.001) were risk factors for AF recurrence after catheter ablation in persistent AF patients with NAFLD. The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for the TyG index in predicting AF recurrence after catheter ablation in these patients was 0.846 (95% CI: 0.773-0.919, P<0.001). [Conclusion] The TyG index is an effective indicator for predicting atrial fibrillation recurrence after catheter ablation in persistent AF patients combined with NAFLD.