The plants of the genus Caragana Fabr. are desert plants of the Leguminosae family, which are widely used in traditional ethnomedicine, with the effects of nourishing Yin and nourishing blood, dispelling wind and removing dampness, clearing heat and detoxifying toxins. The anti-inflammatory effect of Caragana Fabr. has attracted much attention, the research on the related mechanism has made some progress, but it lacks systematic collation. By summarising the anti-inflammatory effects of the active ingredients of Caragana Fabr., the authors found that they have good anti-inflammatory activities on different inflammatory cell models in vitro, and have good improvement effects on rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, complex nephritis, and acute lung injury and other disease models. The anti-inflammatory effects of the active components of this genus mainly include the reduction of the levels of a variety of pro-inflammatory factors, and the signalling pathways involved mainly include TLR4/NF-κB, TLR4/MAPK, TLR4/NF-κB/IRF3, JAK/STAT-1, ERK/STAT-1 and so on. Therefore, the paper mainly reviews the research progress on the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of the Caragana Fabr. plants and their active components according to disease types, with a view to providing reference for the in-depth study of their anti-inflammatory activities and the development of new products with related functions.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the effects of 4-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), and to explore its potential mechanisms. MethodsA total of 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control (C), model (M), control plus HIIT (HC), and model plus HIIT (HM). Rats in groups M and HM underwent 8 weeks of CUMS to establish depression-like behaviors, while groups HC and HM received HIIT intervention beginning from the 5th week for 4 consecutive weeks. The HIIT protocol consisted of repeated intervals of 3 min at high speed (85%-90% maximal training speed, S_max) alternated with one minute at low speed (50%-55% S_max), with 3 to 5 sets per session, conducted 5 d per week. Behavioral assessments and tail-vein blood lactate levels were measured at the end of the 4th and 8th weeks. After the intervention, rat PFC tissues were collected for Golgi staining to analyze synaptic morphology. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were employed to detect brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1), lactate, and glutamate levels in the PFC, as well as serotonin (5-HT) levels in serum. Additionally, Western blot analysis was conducted to quantify the expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins, including c-Fos, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc), and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 1 (NMDAR1). ResultsCompared to the control group (C), the CUMS-exposed rats (group M) exhibited significant reductions in sucrose preference rates, number of grid crossings, frequency of upright postures, and entries into and duration spent in open arms of the elevated plus maze, indicating marked depressive-like behaviors. Additionally, the group M showed significantly reduced dendritic spine density in the PFC, along with elevated levels of c-Fos, Arc, NMDAR1 protein expression, and increased concentrations of lactate and glutamate. Conversely, BDNF and MCT1 contents in the PFC and 5-HT levels in serum were significantly decreased. Following HIIT intervention, rats in the group HM displayed considerable improvement in behavioral indicators compared with the group M, accompanied by significant elevations in PFC MCT1 and lactate concentrations. Furthermore, HIIT notably normalized the expression levels of c-Fos, Arc, NMDAR1, as well as glutamate and BDNF contents in the PFC. Synaptic spine density also exhibited significant recovery. ConclusionFour weeks of HIIT intervention may alleviate depressive-like behaviors in CUMS rats by increasing lactate levels and reducing glutamate concentration in the PFC, thereby downregulating the overexpression of NMDAR, attenuating excitotoxicity, and enhancing synaptic plasticity.

We designed and synthesized eighteen lycorine derivatives with five different structural types, and evaluated their antiviral activities on a HCoV-OC43-infected H460 cell model. Structure-activity relationships suggested that the introduction of appropriate substituents on the 6N atom of lycorine was beneficial to activity. Compound 6a gave a good activity with the half effective concentration (EC₅₀) and selectivity index (SI) values of 2.36 μmol·L^-1 and 16.52, respectively. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) result indicated that 6a might target the non-structural protein 12 (NSP12) subunit in RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2 with the dissociation constant (K_D) value of 1.36 μmol·L^-1. Molecular docking indicated that 6a might act on nidovirus RdRp-associated nucleotidyltransferase (NiRAN) catalytic center of NSP12, distinct from the mechanism of nucleoside-like drugs such as remdesivir. This study provides scientific data for the development of lycorine derivatives into a new class of anti-SARS-CoV-2 small molecule inhibitors.

A new Schiff base modified MCM-41 molecular sieve(N-MCM-41)was synthesized via post-grafting method with 2-pyridine formaldehyde for efficient removal of lead ions(Pb2+)from aqueous solution.X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),Fourier transform-infrared(FT-IR)spectroscopy,thermogravimetric analysis(TGA),and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)were employed to characterize the structure,morphology,surface functional groups and chemical states of N-MCM-41.Moreover,the adsorption behavior of Pb2+by N-MCM-41 was systematically studied.Batch adsorption studies revealed that N-MCM-41 showed the maximal adsorption capacity of 101.3 mg/g at 45℃and pH=5.5 under the initial Pb2+ concentration of 80 mg/L after 180 min adsorption.The adsorption process conformed to the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetics model.The adsorption of Pb2+by N-MCM-41 was a spontaneous and endothermic process.Adsorption mechanism analyses suggested that functional groups on N-MCM-41 had strong coordination ability with Pb2+to improve the adsorption capacity.The synthesized N-MCM-41 adsorbent exhibited excellent reusability in five regeneration cycles.Overall,this study showed that the N-MCM-41 had good application prospect to remove Pb2+ from aqueous solution.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of thumb-tack needling for subcutaeous embedding combined with joint mobilization in the treatment of post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome.Methods A total of 80 patients with post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group,with 40 patients in each group.Both groups were given arthrocentesis,the control group was given ordinary acupuncture on the basis of arthrocentesis,and the treatment group was combined with thumb-tack needling for subcutaeous embedding.One course of treatment was 4 weeks and a total of 4 weeks of treatment was given.After 1 month of treatment,the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated.The changes of Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)of pain scores and simplified Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA)scores,as well as the pain-free passive forward flexion and abduction of the shoulder joint of the affected limb were observed before and after treatment.The Simple Quality of Life Scale(SF-36)scores of the patients in the two groups were compared after treatment.The safety and the occurrence of adverse reactions in the two groups were also evaluated.Results(1)The total effective rate was 95.00%(38/40)in the treatment group and 80.00%(32/40)in the control group.The efficacy of the treatment group was superior to that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,the VAS scores and upper extremity FMA scores of the patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P＜0.05),and the treatment group was significantly superior to the control group in improving the VAS scores and upper extremity FMA scores,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).(3)After treatment,the joint mobility of patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P＜0.05),and the improvement of shoulder joint movement in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(4)After treatment,the SF-36 Quality of Life Scale scores of the treatment group were significantly superior to those of the control group in terms of physical function,psychological function,emotional health,and social function levels,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(5)There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the treatment group and the control group(P＞0.05).Conclusion Thumb-tack needling for subcutaeous embedding combined with joint mobilization exert certain effect in the treatment of post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome.It can significantly improve the pain symptoms of patients,thus improving their quality of life,and the clinical effect is remarkable.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and therapeutic method in the eldly patients with recurrent fever after coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)infection.Methods The data of 4 eldly patients with recurrent fever after COVID-19 infection was collected and their clinical characteristics and efficacy of glucocorticoid therapy were analyzed.Results Three patients were male and 1 was female,their ages were 82-86 years old,fever time was 24-37 days.Lung lesions in 3 patients were mild and 1 was severe.Low dose glucocorticoid was used in 2 cases(the initial dose of methylprednisolone tablets was 20 mg daily).The higher initial dose was used in 2 other cases(methylprednisolone,40 mg daily).The duration of fever reduction was 2-4 days.The treatment course of glucocorticoid was as short as 3-6 weeks for the 3 patients with mild lung lesions,and as long as 23 weeks for the patient with severe lung lesion.Conclusion For eldly patients with recurrent fever after COVID-19 infection,if the lung lesion was mild,a small dose of glucocorticoid and a short course of treatment may be used;if the lung lesion was severe,the dose can be increased appropriately and the course of treatment prolonged.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of ticagrelor tablets combined with atorvastatin calcium tablets in the treatment of cerebral thrombosis.Methods The patients with cerebral thrombosis were divided into control group and treatment group according to cohort methods.Two groups were given basic therapy.On the basic therapy,control group was given atorvastatin calcium 20 mg per time,once a day,orally;on the basic of control group,the treatment group received ticagrelor 90 mg per time,twice a day,orally.Two groups were treated for 4 months.The clinical efficacy,nerve function,blood viscosity,platelet parameters,brain injury markers and adverse drug reactions were compared between two groups.Results Treatment and control groups enrolled 119 and 117 cases,respectively.After treatment,the total effective rates of treatment and control groups were 91.60％(109 cases/119 cases)and 82.05％(96 cases/117 cases)with significant difference(P＜0.05).After treatment,the scale scores of treatment and control groups were(5.47±0.82)and(6.51±0.96)points;the plasma viscosity levels were(1.35±0.21)and(1.62±0.24)mPa·s,whole blood high shear viscosity levels were(3.67±0.51)and(4.01±0.59)mPa·s;the whole blood low shear viscosity levels were(6.12±0.93)and(7.05±1.07)mPa·s;the platelet adhesion rates were(30.52±3.81)％and(36.21±4.02)％;the mean platelet volumes were(12.75±1.86)and(15.42±2.06)fL;the carboxy-terminal hydrolase of ubiquitin levels were(0.39±0.06)and(0.51±0.07)μg·L-1;the key protein antigen-5 of aging levels were(90.76±12.23)and(81.64±11.95)μg·L-1;and the differences were statistically significant between two groups(all P＜0.05).The adverse drug reactions of two groups were nausea,vomiting,bleeding,abdominal pain and diarrhea.The total incidences of adverse drug reactions in treatment and control groups were 5.04％and 4.27％,without significant difference(P＞0.05).Conclusion Ticagrelor tablets combined with atorvastat in calcium tablets have a significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of patients with cerebral thrombus,which can significantly improve the neurological function,blood viscosity,brain injury markers,and platelet parameters of patients,without increasing the incidence of adverse drug reactions.

Objective To investigate the effects of ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide peptide(GLPP)on renal function and oxidative damage in diabetic nephropathy mice and its mechanism.Methods C57 mice were randomly divided into normal group,model group,positive control group(10.0 mg·kg-1 losartan),experimental-L group(50 mg·kg-1 GLPP),experimental-M group(100 mg·kg-1 GLPP),experimental-H group(200 mg·kg-1 GLPP)and GLPP+Losartan group(200 mg·kg-1 GLPP+10.0 mg·kg-1 losartan).Each group had 10 mice.After 8 weeks of continuous gastric administration,blood glucose was detected;renal function and lipid metabolism related indexes were detected by biochemical analyzer;serum inflammatory factor expression was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);protein expression was detected by Western blot;oxidative damage related indexes were detected by kit method;apoptosis was detected by Tunel method.Results The fasting blood glucose of mice in normal group,model group,positive control group,experimental-H group and GLPP+Losartan group were(4.69±0.16),(20.31±2.04),(10.22±0.98),(10.26±0.96)and(7.76±0.43)mmol·L-1;serum creatinine(Scr)level were(25.48±2.33),(68.34±4.78),(32.93±3.25),(36.37±2.36)and(28.30±1.19)μmol·L-1,respectively;malonaldehyde(MDA)content were(2.05±0.22),(6.71±0.57),(2.69±0.27),(3.21±0.32)and(2.19±0.11)nmol·L-1,respectively;Tunel positive cell rates were(3.39±0.27)％,(26.75±1.24)％,(6.81±0.71)％,(8.05±0.80)％,(5.33±0.33)％,respectively;nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB p65)protein expression levels were 0.31±0.05,1.07±0.08,0.40±0.03,0.47±0.04 and 0.35±0.03,respectively.The model group compared with the normal group for the above indicators,the experimental-H group compared with the model group for the above indicators,and the GLPP+Losartan group was compared with the experimental-H group for the above indicators,all differences were statistically significant in statistics(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide peptide may regulate Toll-like receptor 4/NF-κB pathway to inhibit apoptosis and inflammatory response,and improve oxidative damage in diabetic nephropathy mice.

Objective To investigate the protective effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide(LBP)on retinal photoreceptor cell damage caused by exposure to N-methyl-D-aspartate(NMDA)and its possible mechanism.Methods The experiment was divided into normal group,model group,control group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups.The experimental-L,-M,-H groups were given 0.01,0.50 and 2.00 mg·mL-1 LBP,respectively,while the control group was given 10 μamol·L-1 MK-801 solution.The normal and model groups were given the same volume of complete culture medium.Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)was used to measure cell survival.Flow cytometry was used to measured cell apoptosis.Calcium imaging was used to measure changes in intracellular calcium concentration.Western blot was used to determine protein levels of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2)and Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax).Results The cell survival rates of experimental-M,control,model and normal groups were(85.92±6.21)％,(72.33±5.45)％,(37.92±2.31)％and(97.12±5.11)％;the apoptosis rates were(13.80±0.52)％,(15.22±0.51)％,(38.10±0.67)％and(5.34±0.46)％;the intracellular calcium relative concentration after NMDA was added 30 s were 3.00±0.37,4.65±0.24,27.24±0.96 and 1.02±0.32;the relative expression levels of Bel-2 protein were 0.80±0.05,0.78±0.02,0.30±0.04 and 1.00±0.05;the relative expression levels of Bax protein were 1.57±0.04,1.91±0.05,5.18±0.06 and 1.00±0.04,respectively.Compared with the model group,the above-mentioned indexes in the experimental-M and control groups had statistical significance(all P＜0.05).Conclusion LBP could preclude the damage of retinal photoreceptor cells induced by exposure to NMDA,the possible mechanisms are related to inhibit the internal flow of calcium,and decrease the Bax expression and increase Bel-2 expression at protein level.

Objective This study aimed to compare the current Essen rabies post-exposure immunization schedule(0-3-7-14-28)in China and the simple 4-dose schedule(0-3-7-14)newly recommended by the World Health Organization in terms of their safety,efficacy,and protection. Methods Mice were vaccinated according to different immunization schedules,and blood was collected for detection of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies(RVNAs)on days 14,21,28,35,and 120 after the first immunization.Additionally,different groups of mice were injected with lethal doses of the CVS-11 virus on day 0,subjected to different rabies immunization schedules,and assessed for morbidity and death status.In a clinical trial,185 rabies-exposed individuals were selected for post-exposure vaccination according to the Essen schedule,and blood was collected for RVNAs detection on days 28 and 42 after the first immunization. Results A statistically significant difference in RVNAs between mice in the Essen and 0-3-7-14 schedule groups was observed on the 35th day(P<0.05).The groups 0-3-7-14,0-3-7-21,and 0-3-7-28 showed no statistically significant difference(P>0.05)in RVNAs levels at any time point.The post-exposure immune protective test showed that the survival rate of mice in the control group was 20%,whereas that in the immunization groups was 40%.In the clinical trial,the RVNAs positive conversion rates on days 28(14 days after 4 doses)and 42(14 days after 5 doses)were both 100%,and no significant difference in RVNAs levels was observed(P>0.05). Conclusion The simple 4-dose schedule can produce sufficient RVNAs levels,with no significant effect of a delayed fourth vaccine dose(14-28 d)on the immunization potential.