Background/Aims: Anti-reflux mucosal ablation (ARMA) is a promising endoscopic intervention for proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-dependent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, the effect of ARMA on esophageal motility remains unclear. Methods: Twenty patients with PPI-dependent GERD receiving ARMA were prospectively enrolled. Comprehensive self-report symptom questionnaires, endoscopy, 24-hour impedance-pH monitoring, and high-resolution impedance manometry were performed and analyzed before and 3 months after ARMA. Results: All ARMA procedures were performed successfully. Symptom scores, including GerdQ (11.16 ± 2.67 to 9.11 ± 2.64, P = 0.026) and reflux symptom index (11.63 ± 5.62 to 6.11 ± 3.86, P = 0.001), improved significantly, while 13 patients (65%) reported discontinuation of PPI. Total acid exposure time (5.84 ± 4.63% to 2.83 ± 3.41%, P = 0.024) and number of reflux episodes (73.05 ± 19.34 to 37.55 ± 22.71, P < 0.001) decreased significantly after ARMA. Improved esophagogastric junction (EGJ) barrier function, including increased lower esophageal sphincter resting pressure (13.89 ± 10.78 mmHg to 21.68 ± 11.5 mmHg, P = 0.034), 4-second integrated relaxation pressure (5.75 ± 6.42 mmHg to 9.99 ± 5.89 mmHg, P = 0.020), and EGJ-contractile integral(16.42 ± 16.93 mmHg · cm to 31.95 ± 21.25 mmHg · cm, P = 0.016), were observed. Esophageal body contractility also increased significantly (distal contractile integral, 966.85 ± 845.84 mmHg · s · cm to 1198.8 ± 811.74 mmHg · s · cm, P = 0.023). Patients with symptom improvement had better pre-AMRA esophageal body contractility. Conclusions ARMA effectively improves symptoms and reflux burden, EGJ barrier function, and esophageal body contractility in patients with PPIdependent GERD during short-term evaluation. Longer follow-up to clarify the sustainability of ARMA is needed.

Background/Aims: Anti-reflux mucosal ablation (ARMA) is a promising endoscopic intervention for proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-dependent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, the effect of ARMA on esophageal motility remains unclear. Methods: Twenty patients with PPI-dependent GERD receiving ARMA were prospectively enrolled. Comprehensive self-report symptom questionnaires, endoscopy, 24-hour impedance-pH monitoring, and high-resolution impedance manometry were performed and analyzed before and 3 months after ARMA. Results: All ARMA procedures were performed successfully. Symptom scores, including GerdQ (11.16 ± 2.67 to 9.11 ± 2.64, P = 0.026) and reflux symptom index (11.63 ± 5.62 to 6.11 ± 3.86, P = 0.001), improved significantly, while 13 patients (65%) reported discontinuation of PPI. Total acid exposure time (5.84 ± 4.63% to 2.83 ± 3.41%, P = 0.024) and number of reflux episodes (73.05 ± 19.34 to 37.55 ± 22.71, P < 0.001) decreased significantly after ARMA. Improved esophagogastric junction (EGJ) barrier function, including increased lower esophageal sphincter resting pressure (13.89 ± 10.78 mmHg to 21.68 ± 11.5 mmHg, P = 0.034), 4-second integrated relaxation pressure (5.75 ± 6.42 mmHg to 9.99 ± 5.89 mmHg, P = 0.020), and EGJ-contractile integral(16.42 ± 16.93 mmHg · cm to 31.95 ± 21.25 mmHg · cm, P = 0.016), were observed. Esophageal body contractility also increased significantly (distal contractile integral, 966.85 ± 845.84 mmHg · s · cm to 1198.8 ± 811.74 mmHg · s · cm, P = 0.023). Patients with symptom improvement had better pre-AMRA esophageal body contractility. Conclusions ARMA effectively improves symptoms and reflux burden, EGJ barrier function, and esophageal body contractility in patients with PPIdependent GERD during short-term evaluation. Longer follow-up to clarify the sustainability of ARMA is needed.

Background/Aims: Anti-reflux mucosal ablation (ARMA) is a promising endoscopic intervention for proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-dependent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, the effect of ARMA on esophageal motility remains unclear. Methods: Twenty patients with PPI-dependent GERD receiving ARMA were prospectively enrolled. Comprehensive self-report symptom questionnaires, endoscopy, 24-hour impedance-pH monitoring, and high-resolution impedance manometry were performed and analyzed before and 3 months after ARMA. Results: All ARMA procedures were performed successfully. Symptom scores, including GerdQ (11.16 ± 2.67 to 9.11 ± 2.64, P = 0.026) and reflux symptom index (11.63 ± 5.62 to 6.11 ± 3.86, P = 0.001), improved significantly, while 13 patients (65%) reported discontinuation of PPI. Total acid exposure time (5.84 ± 4.63% to 2.83 ± 3.41%, P = 0.024) and number of reflux episodes (73.05 ± 19.34 to 37.55 ± 22.71, P < 0.001) decreased significantly after ARMA. Improved esophagogastric junction (EGJ) barrier function, including increased lower esophageal sphincter resting pressure (13.89 ± 10.78 mmHg to 21.68 ± 11.5 mmHg, P = 0.034), 4-second integrated relaxation pressure (5.75 ± 6.42 mmHg to 9.99 ± 5.89 mmHg, P = 0.020), and EGJ-contractile integral(16.42 ± 16.93 mmHg · cm to 31.95 ± 21.25 mmHg · cm, P = 0.016), were observed. Esophageal body contractility also increased significantly (distal contractile integral, 966.85 ± 845.84 mmHg · s · cm to 1198.8 ± 811.74 mmHg · s · cm, P = 0.023). Patients with symptom improvement had better pre-AMRA esophageal body contractility. Conclusions ARMA effectively improves symptoms and reflux burden, EGJ barrier function, and esophageal body contractility in patients with PPIdependent GERD during short-term evaluation. Longer follow-up to clarify the sustainability of ARMA is needed.

Aim To predict and validate the mechanism of wenshen xuanbi tang(WSXBT) in treatment of osteoporosis (OP) based on network pharmacology, molecular docking techniques and in vivo experimental techniques. Methods Network pharmacology was used to screen the key ingredients and core targets of WSXBT for the treatment of osteoporosis. Metascape database was used for gene ontology (GO) biological process enrichment analysis and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway enrichment analysis of core targets. AutoDockTools 1. 5. 7 software was applied in molecular docking to simulate the binding activity of key active ingredients to core targets. To study the efficacy of WSXBT on rats with osteoporosis and to verify the related targets and pathways, rat models of osteoporosis were established by excising the bilateral ovaries of rats. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum OPG, PINP and RANKL content. Biomechanical tester was applied to test the biomechanics of rat femurs. Micro-CT was applied to detect the femoral bone density. Then, Western blot was employed to measure the protein expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt). Results A total of 156 active ingredients of WSXBT were screened, involving 229 potential targets, 23 core targets and 145 signaling pathways. The molecular docking results showed that five key ingredients, including quercetin, kaempferol, naringenin, isobavachin and licochalcone a, possessed good binding ability to the core targets of PIK3R1 and AKT1. The results of in vivo experiments showed that WSXBT could significantly increase bone density, improve bone tissue microstructure, enhance femur biomechanics and increase PINP expression and OPG/RANKL ratio in rats with osteoporosis. Results of WB showed that WSXBT significantly increased p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt ratios. Conclusions WSXBT could improve bone mineral density in postmenopausal osteoporotic rats through PI3K/ Akt signaling pathway and increasing OPG/RANKL ratio.

In this article,the mechanism of Shanxian Granule in inhibiting liver cancer,lung cancer,sarcoma,melanoma and other tumors was reviewed,with a view to providing a theoretical basis for the clinical research of Shanxian Granules in the treatment of malignant tumors.Shanxian Granule are the pure Chinese medicine preparation for counteracting malignant tumor developed by the Oncology Research Team of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine on the basis of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation and treatment combined with decades of clinical experience as well as the achievements of modern pharmacological research.Shanxian Granule are mainly composed of Crataegi Fructus,Agrimoniae Herba,Panacis Quinquefolii Radix,Curcumae Rhizoma,Testudinis Carapax et Plastrum,Trionycis Carapax,Corydalis Rhizoma,and Polyporus,and have the actions of benefiting qi and nourishing yin,supporting healthy-qi and cultivating the essence,activating blood and removing stasis,and eliminating swelling and counteracting cancer.The compatibility of Shanxian Granule embodies the principle of supporting healthy-qi but avoiding maintaining pathogens,and eliminating pathogens but avoiding injuring healthy-qi.The granules can effectively inhibit the growth and metastasis of liver cancer,lung cancer,sarcoma,melanoma and other tumors both in vivo and in vitro,alleviate the clinical symptoms of tumor patients,and improve their prognosis.The anti-tumor mechanism of Shanxian Granules is related to the enhancement of body immune function,inhibition of tumor cell proliferation,enhancement of tumor cell apoptosis,inhibition of tumor cell invasion and metastasis as well as the tumor angiogenesis.

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of recombinant human anti-severe acute respiratory syn-drome coronavirus 2(anti-SARS-CoV-2)monoclonal antibody injection(F61 injection)in the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)combined with renal damage.Methods Patients with COVID-19 and renal damage who visited the PLA General Hospital from January to February 2023 were selected.Subjects were randomly divided into two groups.Control group was treated with conventional anti-COVID-19 therapy,while trial group was treated with conventional anti-COVID-19 therapy combined with F61 injection.A 15-day follow-up was conducted after drug administration.Clinical symptoms,laboratory tests,electrocardiogram,and chest CT of pa-tients were performed to analyze the efficacy and safety of F61 injection.Results Twelve subjects(7 in trial group and 5 in control group)were included in study.Neither group had any clinical progression or death cases.The ave-rage time for negative conversion of nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 in control group and trial group were 3.2 days and 1.57 days(P=0.046),respectively.The scores of COVID-19 related target symptom in the trial group on the 3rd and 5th day after medication were both lower than those of the control group(both P＜0.05).According to the clinical staging and World Health Organization 10-point graded disease progression scale,both groups of subjects improved but didn't show statistical differences(P＞0.05).For safety,trial group didn't present any infusion-re-lated adverse event.Subjects in both groups demonstrated varying degrees of elevated blood glucose,elevated urine glucose,elevated urobilinogen,positive urine casts,and cardiac arrhythmia,but the differences were not statistica-lly significant(all P＞0.05).Conclusion F61 injection has initially demonstrated safety and clinical benefit in trea-ting patients with COVID-19 combined with renal damage.As the domestically produced drug,it has good clinical accessibility and may provide more options for clinical practice.

Objective:To analyze the disease characteristics of aspiration pneumonia and its risk factors.Methods:In this retrospective case-control study, analysis was conducted on data from 92 patients aged ≥ 60 years admitted to Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Capital Medical University between June 1, 2018 and July 31, 2022, with aspiration pneumonia(AsP) as the primary diagnosis at the time of hospital discharge and from non-AsP patients admitted during the same period.The number of participants was matched at a 1∶1 ratio.Results:The average age of the AsP group was(80.88 ± 9.41) years and 57(62.0%) were men.The average age of the control group was(77.74 ± 10.98) years and 52(56.5%) were men.There was no statistically significant difference in age and sex ratio(age: t=1.973, P=0.060; sex ratio: χ2=0.661, P=0.416).Univariate analysis showed that, at admission, body mass index(BMI) and activities of daily living(ADL) scores of the AsP group were lower than those of the non-AsP group, the proportions of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, acute trauma, cerebrovascular disease, history of cerebral infarction/hemorrhage and sequelae of cerebrovascular disease were higher than those of the non-AsP group(all P<0.05), and the proportions of patients receiving feeding via indwelling nasogastric intubation and tracheal intubation were also higher in the AsP group(all P<0.05).The white blood cell count, the percentage of neutrophils and the procalcitonin level in the first round of tests were higher in the AsP group than those in the non-AsP group and the maximum values of the above parameters during hospitalization were also higher than those in non-AsP patients, while the levels of albumin and prealbumin were lower than those in the non-AsP group( P<0.05 for all).Chest CT showed that 83.7%(77/92) of patients with AsP had bilateral pneumonia, higher than 55.4%(51/92) in the non-AsP group( χ2=8.569, P=0.014).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that male sex( OR=16.206, 95% CI: 1.268-207.191, P=0.032) was a risk factor for AsP, and BMI( OR=0.747, 95% CI: 0.582-0.959, P=0.022) and ADL score at admission( OR=0.945, 95% CI: 0.903-0.988, P=0.014) were protective factors against AsP.ADL score at admission( OR=0.951, 95% CI: 0.907-0.982, P=0.043), tumor history( OR=6.859, 95% CI: 1.484-31.700, P=0.014), history of cerebral infarction/intracerebral hemorrhage( OR=4.368, 95% CI: 1.087-17.511, P=0.038), history of chronic renal insufficiency( OR=5.820, 95% CI: 1.445-23.440, P=0.013), acute respiratory failure( OR=5.281, 95% CI: 1.237-22.545, P=0.013) and myocardial infarction( OR=9.466, 95% CI: 2.151-41.660, P=0.003) were independent factors affecting the prognosis of pneumonia in the elderly. Conclusions:Aspiration pneumonia in the elderly is more common in men and in individuals with low BMI and low ADL scores.There is no increased risk of mortality in people with AsP, compared with people without AsP, but some risk factors in AsP patients may lead to poor prognosis, calling for increased awareness and early intervention in clinical practice.

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method utilizing correction factors was established for the quantitative detection of related substances in flumazenil. Separation was achieved using an Agilent Pursuit XRs C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with an isocratic elution of dilute phosphoric acid, methanol, and tetrahydrofuran as the mobile phases. Correction factors calculated from a standard curve method were applied to determine the impurity content. The quantification of impurities in flumazenil was conducted using both external standard and correction factor methods, followed by validation and comparison of the two. For the identification of degradation products, a forced degradation approach was employed to prepare a flumazenil degradation solution, and the resulting impurities were confirmed by LC-MS analysis. The separation of flumazenil and its impurities was found to be efficient. The limits of quantification for impurities A, B, D, and E were established at 0.169 9, 0.314 7, 0.143 9, and 0.270 8 ng, respectively, with the limits of detection at 0.055 8, 0.096 9, 0.048 8, and 0.089 0 ng. These impurities demonstrated a strong linear relationship across the concentration ranges of 0.034 9-7.847 0, 0.038 7-8.710 7, 0.034 6-7.794 1, and 0.032 4-7.292 8 µg·mL^-1, respectively (n = 7). The method achieved average recoveries between 98.25% and 99.42%, with an RSD of less than 2.0% (n = 9), indicating high accuracy. The external standard and correction factor methods were used to determine the related substances in flumazenil, and the results of the two methods were consistent. The established HPLC method is characterized by its high accuracy, sensitivity, and repeatability, and is suitable for determining related substances in flumazenil.

Celastrol and wilforlide A are the main active triterpenoids of the traditional Chinese medicine Lei Gong Teng, which have anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities, and are the material basis for the clinical efficacy of Lei Gong Teng-related Chinese medicinal preparations. By analysing the biosynthetic pathway of active ingredients, optimizing genetic elements and utilizing "cell factory" to produce triterpenoids heterologously will be an effective way to obtain from Tripterygium wilfordii in the future in a "low-cost and high-efficient" manner. CYP712Ks are the first cytochrome P450s involved in the skeleton modification of friedelane-type and oleanane-type triterpenoids in T. wilfordii, and they can catalyse the generation of polpunonic acid from friedelin and 3-epi-katonic acid from β-amyrin by carboxylation at C-29 position. In this study, four multifunctional TwCYP712K1/2/3/5 were used to clarify the catalytic function and substrate selection preference using in vivo functional characterization in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The spatial structure of the protein-substrate binding was clarified through homology modeling and molecular docking, and then the differential amino acids in the active pocket of the protein were mutated to clarify the crucial amino acids determining the catalytic function and the selection of substrate structure. A total of 63 mutant elements were constructed, and the amino acid sites affecting the carboxylation function of TwCYP712Ks were analyzed. In particular, the key amino acids affecting the substrate selectivity of TwCYP712K2 towards oleanane-type and friedelane-type triterpenoids were revealed and the TwCYP712K2^F127I and TwCYP712K2^A227T mutants would result in a reversal of the product ratio. In conclusion, four proteins of TwCYP712Ks were semi-rationally designed by homologous protein alignment and mutual mutation to elucidate multiple amino acid sites determining the catalytic function of the proteins, and a series of activity-enhancing or altering mutants were obtained, which provide abundant catalytic elements for the biosynthesis of active triterpenoids from T. wilfordii, and the mechanism of carboxylation in the C-29 position was initially elucidated.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate whether the onset of the plateau phase of slow hepatitis B surface antigen decline in patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with intermittent interferon therapy is related to the frequency of dendritic cell subsets and expression of the costimulatory molecules CD40,CD80,CD83,and CD86. Method This was a cross-sectional study in which patients were divided into a natural history group(namely NH group),a long-term oral nucleoside analogs treatment group(namely NA group),and a plateau-arriving group(namely P group).The percentage of plasmacytoid dendritic cell and myeloid dendritic cell subsets in peripheral blood lymphocytes and monocytes and the mean fluorescence intensity of their surface costimulatory molecules were detected using a flow cytometer. Results In total,143 patients were enrolled(NH group,n = 49;NA group,n = 47;P group,n = 47).The results demonstrated that CD141/CD1c double negative myeloid dendritic cell(DNmDC)/lymphocytes and monocytes(%)in P group(0.041[0.024,0.069])was significantly lower than that in NH group(0.270[0.135,0.407])and NA group(0.273[0.150,0.443]),and CD86 mean fluorescence intensity of DNmDCs in P group(1832.0[1484.0,2793.0])was significantly lower than that in NH group(4316.0[2958.0,5169.0])and NA group(3299.0[2534.0,4371.0]),Adjusted P all<0.001. Conclusion Reduced DNmDCs and impaired maturation may be associated with the onset of the plateau phase during intermittent interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B.