ObjectiveHuman Ku70 protein mainly involves the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSB) through its DNA-binding properties, and it is recently reported having an RNA-binding ability. This paper is to explore whether Ku70 has RNA helicase activity and affects miRNA maturation. MethodsRNAs bound to Ku protein were analyzed by RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (RIP-seq) and bioinfomatic anaylsis. The expression relationship between Ku protein and miRNAs was verified by Western blot (WB) and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. Binding ability of Ku protein to the RNAs was tested by biolayer interferometry (BLI) assay. RNA helicase activity of Ku protein was identified with EMSA assay. The effect of Ku70 regulated miR-124 on neuronal differentiation was performed by morphology analysis, WB and immunofluorescence assays with or without Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. ResultsWe revealed that the Ku70 protein had RNA helicase activity and affected miRNA maturation. Deficiency of Ku70 led to the up-regulation of a large number of mature miRNAs, especially neuronal specific miRNAs like miR-124. The knockdown of Ku70 promoted neuronal differentiation in human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and SH-SY5Y cells by boosting miR-124 maturation. Importantly, ZIKV infection reduced the expression of Ku70 whereas increased expression of miR-124 in hNPCs, and led to morphologically neuronal differentiation. ConclusionOur study revealed a novel function of Ku70 as an RNA helicase and regulating miRNA maturation. The reduced expression of Ku70 with ZIKV infection increased the expression of miR-124 and led to the premature differentiation of embryonic neural progenitor cells, which might be one of the causes of microcephaly.

Interventions for endometriosis(EMs)include surgical excision of lesions and hormonal therapy,which usually have limited efficacy and adverse drug reactions.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has the multi-component and multi-target characteristics,which can help patients achieve good clinical benefits by intervening in different parts of the disease.In this paper,we briefly discuss the modern pharmacology of Sanlang and Curcuma longa,and deeply summarize the possible mechanisms of action of TCM monomer and classical compound extracts and their active ingredients through signal pathways in inflammation,immune system,angiogenesis,hormone regulation,etc.,so as to provide theoretical bases for the clinical use of TCM monomers,drug-to-drug groups and compounds in the treatment of EMs.

Objective To provide a longitudinal evaluation tool based on the frequency of aggressive be-havior for the aggression assessment of schizophrenia patients.Methods The Life History of Aggression was translated and revised to form the Life History of Aggression-Chinese Version(LHA-CV)based on 369 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in the Chengdu community and compulsory medical insti-tution.The reliability of LHA-CV was analyzed by means of split-half reliability,test-retest reliability and inter-evaluator consistency.The validity was analyzed by item analysis,construct validity and crite-rion validity.Results Item analysis found that LHA-CV had good homogeneity and discriminant validity.Exploratory factor analysis found that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin(KMO)test value was 0.80,and the Bartlett's sphericity test χ2=1203.46(P<0.05),and it revealed four factors including non-physical ag-gression,physical aggression,self-directed aggression and antisocial behavior/consequences.The factor loadings for all 11 items were greater than 0.40.Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the factor model,Chi-square degree of freedom(χ2/df)was 3.61,root mean square error of approxima-tion(RMSEA)was 0.07,goodness-of-fit index(GFI)was 0.92,comparative fit index(CFI)was 0.90,incremental fit index(IFI)was 0.90,and the discriminant validity of each factor was good.The criterion validity test showed the total score of LHA-CV was positively correlated with the aggressive behavior level of MacArthur Community Violence Instrument,the total score of Buss-Perry Aggression Scale,and the score of Antisocial Personality Disorder Subscale of Personality Diagnostic Question-naire-4th Edition Plus(PDQ-4+_ASPD,P<0.05).The Cronbach's α coefficient of non-physical aggres-sion,physical aggression,self-directed aggression,antisocial behavior/consequences and LHA-CV total score were 0.82,0.73,0.74,0.56 and 0.79,respectively.The test-retest reliability,Spearman-Brown split-half reliability and intra-class correlation coefficient of LHA-CV total score were 0.82(P<0.05),0.66 and 0.99,respectively.Conclusion LHA-CV has good reliability and validity,and can be used as an evaluation tool for longitudinally assessing aggressive behavior in schizophrenia patients.

Objective To construct curcumin pyrazole derivative by the reaction of diketone of curcumin and benzylhydrazine based on the above structure-activity relationship,and to explore its antioxidant activity to provide experimental basis for the development of curcumin antioxidant derivative.Methods Curcumin-N-substituted pyrazole derivative was synthesized from curcumin and benzylhydrazine.The structures of the derivative were confirmed by infrared spectroscopy(IR),nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy(1H-NMR,13C-NMR)and LC-MS.The antioxidant activity in vitro of the derivative was evaluated by determination of curcumin and its pyrazole derivative scavenging ability for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH)free radical and 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid(ABTS)free radical.Results Curcumin pyrazole derivative was successfully synthesized.Curcumin and its pyrazole derivative showed good free radical scavenging effects in the range of 4.6-73.6,6.25-100 μg·mL-1,respectively,with a significant dose-effect relationship.The half-maximal inhibition(IC50)values of curcumin and its pyrazole derivatives determined by DPPH method were 14.24,40.37 μg·mL-1,respectively,while the IC50 values of curcumin and its pyrazole derivatives determined by ABTS method were 36.65,19.26 μg·mL-1,respectively.Conclusion The antioxidant activity of β-dione of curcumin was retained through the substitution of the pyrazole ring,and the curcumin pyrazole derivative deserves further investigation as a potential antioxidant.

In accordance with the theory of'treating the skin diseases with the skin',skin-related Chinese medicinals are usually used for the treatment of skin diseases,which reflects the thinking mode of holistic syndrome differentiation and classification according to the manifestations in traditional Chinese medicine.With ying-yang theory as the principle of differentiation and treatment of diseases and based on the core pathogenesis of'yin-yang imbalance causing the manifestations of the skin'for the skin diseases,Chinese medical master XU AN Guo-Wei has used skin-related Chinese medicinals in the treatment of skin diseases and has given full play to their unique advantage by following the theory of'treating the skin diseases with the skin'and'balanced regulation of yin and yang'.In the clinical practice,allergic skin diseases were usually treated with Cicadae Periostracum plus Dictamni Cortex for dispelling wind and relieving itching,hypopigmentation related skin diseases were usually treated with Sojae Semen Nigrum skin plus Dictamni Cortex for dispelling wind and tonifying kidney,autoimmune skin diseases were usually treated with Moutan Cortex plus Lycii Cortex for nourishing yin,clearing heat and activating blood,and skin diseases associated with abnormal sebum secretion were usually treated with Mori Cortex plus Lycii Cortex for purging lung and nourishing kidney.Skin-related Chinese medicinals have the actions of expelling wind and promoting eruption of papules,tonifying kidney and nourishing yin.The medication method of'treating the skin diseases with the skin'will provide reference for the treatment of skin diseases.

Objective:To investigate whether prophylactic use of metal clips is necessary after cold snare polypectomy (CSP) of colorectal polyps of 6-10 mm.Methods:A total of 200 patients with 6-10 mm polyps that met the criteria of cold snare resection in Chengdu Third People's Hospital from 15 February 2022 to 30 May 2022 were randomly divided into two groups: a group that received preventive metal clip treatment and an observation group. Age, gender, body mass index (BMI), Boston score, endoscopy entry time, wound size, operation time, intraoperative bleeding time, postoperative delayed bleeding rate and cost between the two groups were compared and analyzed.Results:Ninety-eight patients in the metal clip group had 122 polyps removed, and 97 patients in the observation group had 119 polyps removed. There was no significant difference in the age, gender, BMI, Boston score, endoscopy entry time or wound size between the two groups. There were significant differences in the operation time (171.03±90.78 s VS 69.81±43.26 s, t=2.266， P=0.010), intraoperative bleeding time (19.98±17.37 s VS 29.16±17.56 s, t=-2.875， P=0.006) and surgery cost (571.63±110.92 yuan VS 366.32±13.2 yuan, t=18.102， P<0.001) between the metal clip group and the observation group. There was no significant difference in the delayed bleeding incidence［0.0%（0/98）VS 1.0%（1/97）， P=0.497］between the two groups. Conclusion:For patients with continuous bleeding time <60 seconds after CSP of 6-10 mm colonic polyps, the prophylactic use of metal clips may reduce the bleeding time, but may increase the operation time and cost. Metal clips have little effect on preventing postoperative complications.

An automatic ash-removal heat-sensitive moxibustion device was developed, which could keep relatively constant temperature of heat-sensitive moxibustion, and realize the automatic ignition and automatic ash removal of moxa sticks during heat-sensitive moxibustion. The automatic ash-removal heat-sensitive moxibustion device comprises a bracket and a moxibustion box fixed on the top of the bracket; the bracket is composed of a base and a movable telescopic arm. This device can solve the problems of temperature instability, moxa ash blocking heat transfer and moxa ash falling during heat-sensitive moxibustion, avoiding the scalding caused by moxa ash falling, and reduce the workload of medical staff.
Humans ; Hot Temperature ; Moxibustion ; Temperature

Objective:To construct and validate a risk prediction model for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated pneumonia (CIP) using machine learning algorithms and the nomogram, aiming to provide an accurate and intuitive method to assist nurses in screening people at high risk of developing CIP.Methods:This was a retrospective case -control study. A total of 230 oncology patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors attending Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University from January 2019 to February 2022 were collected using the hospital's electronic medical record system. The prediction models were built using five machine learning algorithms and nomogram. The models were then validated on a separate test set, and their differentiation and stability were assessed using evaluation indices like AUC and accuracy rate.Results:Underlying lung disease, smoking history, serum albumin≤35 g/L and radiotherapy history were identified as important influencing factors of CIP in all six models. The AUC of K nearest neighbor, support vetor machines (SVM), naive Bayesian, decision tree and random forest models predicted CIP were 0.647, 0.696, 0.930, 0.870, and 0.934, respectively. The AUC of the model created by the nomogram was 0.813, which was lower than the best random forest model in the machine learning algorithm, but with good predictive performance (AUC=0.934).Conclusions:The nomogram model can assess the patient′s risk more intuitively, but the risk prediction model of CIP based on a machine learning algorithm has a higher diagnostic value. It is suggested that the accuracy and usefulness of the prediction model can be increased by combining the nomogram's foundation with the machine learning algorithm.

A moxibustion device with the functions of auricular fumigation moxibustion and heat-sensitive moxibustion is designed. The smoke of the ignited moxa stick is used for the fumigation moxibustion at the external auditory canal, while the heat generated works on Dazhui (GV 14) for heat-sensitive moxibustion. The device consists of five parts, i.e. combustion chamber, smoke pipe, smoke processing chamber, power module and connector. It solves the limitations such as unpleasant experience in treatment, unfavorable temperature control, easy scalding and excessive manual dependence induced by usual fumigation moxibustion and during heat-sensitive moxibustion. This moxibustion device may improve the safety and convenience when delivering the treatment with fumigation moxibustion and heat-sensitive moxibustion, as well as the work efficiency of medical staff.
Humans ; Moxibustion ; Hot Temperature ; Fumigation ; Smoke ; Temperature

This study aimed to provide scientific evidence for predicting quality markers(Q-markers) of Elephantopus scaber by establishing UPLC fingerprint of E. scaber from different geographical origins and determining the content of 13 major components, as well as conducting in vitro anti-cancer activity investigation of the main components. The chromatographic column used was Waters CORTECS UPLC C_(18)(2.1 mm×150 mm, 1.6 μm), and the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid solution(gradient elution). The column temperature was set at 30 ℃, and the flow rate was 0.2 mL·min~(-1). The injection volume was 1 μL, and the detection wavelength was 240 nm. The UPLC fingerprint of E. scaber was fitted using the Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine(2012 edition) to determine common peaks, evaluate similarity, identify and determine the content of major components. The CCK-8 assay was used to explore the inhibitory effect of the main components on the proliferation of lung cancer cells. The results showed that in the established UPLC fingerprint of E. scaber, 35 common peaks were identified. Thirteen major components, including neochlorogenic acid(peak 1), chlorogenic acid(peak 2), cryptochlorogenic acid(peak 3), caffeic acid(peak 4), schaftoside(peak 6), galuteolin(peak 9), isochlorogenic acid B(peak 10), isochlorogenic acid A(peak 12), isochlorogenic acid C(peak 18), deoxyelephantopin(peak 28), isodeoxyelephantopin(peak 29), isoscabertopin(peak 31), and scabertopin(peak 32) were identified and quantified, and a quantitative analysis method was established. The results of the in vitro anti-cancer activity study showed that deoxyelephantopin, isodeoxyelephantopin, isoscabertopin, and scabertopin in E. scaber exhibited inhibition rates of lung cancer cell proliferation exceeding 80% at a concentration of 10 μmol·L~(-1), higher than the positive drug paclitaxel. These results indicate that the fingerprint of E. scaber is highly characteristic, and the quantitative analysis method is accurate and stable, providing references for the research on quality standards of E. scaber. Four sesquiterpene lactones in E. scaber show significant anti-cancer activity and can serve as Q-markers for E. scaber.
Humans ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Asteraceae/chemistry* ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy*