OBJECTIVE To screen the prescription and preparation method of Bupleurum nanoemulsion, and evaluate its quality, study the antipyretic effect. METHODS The emulsifier and co-emulsifier of the nanoemulsion were preliminarily screened, and then the prescription was screened by pseudo-ternary phase diagram. The quality evaluation of the appearance, particle size distribution, structure type, stability and content of the prepared Bupleurum nanoemulsion was performed. Wistar rats were further randomly divided into blank control group, model control group, positive control group(aspirin group), Bupleurum nanoemulsion high-dose, medium-dose and low-dose groups(18.00, 9.00, 3.00 g·kg−1). Except for the blank control group, the pathological model of fever rats was prepared in the other groups. According to the scheduled experimental requirements, rats in each group were given the corresponding drugs. And the temperature changes of rats in each group were recorded at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 h to observe the antipyretic effect of Bupleurum nanoemulsion. RESULTS The best prescription of Bupleurum nanoemulsion: Tween-80 6 g and n-butanol 3 g, Bupleurum extract dissolved in pure water as water phase 20 mL, Bupleurum oil as oil phase 2 g. At room temperature, the Bupleurum nanoemulsion was a yellow-brown clear and transparent liquid, O/W nanoemulsion, with an average particle size of (77.21±3.66)nm, polydispersity index of 0.28±0.04, Zeta potential of (–18.81±1.42)mV, and saikosaponin content of 3.071 mg·mL−1, with good stability. In animal experiments, compared with the model control group, the rectal temperature of aspirin group and Bupleurum nanoemulsion high-dose group was significantly lower after the first administration(P<0.01), the rectal temperature of Bupleurum nanoemulsion middle-dose group was significantly lower after the first administration 2, 3 h(P<0.01). CONCLUSION The Bupleurum nanoemulsion is transparent and stable, and it has good antipyretic effect on fever rat model.

Objective:To investigate urinary microalbumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) and α1-microglobulin to creatinine ratio (MCR) of people aged 40 years old and above in Shanxi province, and analyze the influencing factors of abnormal ACR and MCR, and to provide evidence for the prevention and control of chronic kidney diseases.Methods:It was a cross-sectional study. The data came from a screening study of chronic kidney diseases conducted by Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital from April to November 2019, involving aged 40 years old and above from 10 counties (Ningwu county, Yu county, Yangqu county, Lin county, Shouyang county, Zezhou county, Huozhou city, Hejin city, Linyi county and Ruicheng county) in Shanxi province. The related data were collected through questionnaire surveys, physical examinations, and blood and urine sample collection. Urinary α1-microglobulin, creatinine, and microalbuminuria were measured. Urinary ACR and MCR were calculated using urinary creatinine correction. ACR abnormality was defined as ≥30 mg/g, and MCR abnormality was defined as >23 mg/g. Covariate analysis was used to control confounding factors, and adjusted urinary ACR and MCR of 10 counties were calculated. Spearman correlation analysis and chi-square test were performed to analyze the factors associated with abnormal urinary ACR and MCR. Logistic regression analysis model was used to identify the influencing factors of abnormal urinary ACR and MCR.Results:A total of 12 285 residents were enrolled in the study, including 5 206 males (42.4%) and 7 079 females (57.6%). The median age was 58.0 (51.0, 66.0) years old. The median urinary ACR was 7.5 (4.5, 15.7) mg/g, and the median urinary MCR was 10.2 (6.4, 16.2) mg/g. A total of 1 572 individuals (12.80%) had urinary ACR abnormality and 1 450 individuals (11.80%) had urinary MCR abnormality. Yangqu county, Yuxian county, and Ningwu county had higher urinary ACR with (35.58±3.04) mg/g, (34.08±4.50) mg/g and (32.09±3.19) mg/g, respectively. The urinary MCR was generally similar among the 10 counties and Yangqu county had higher urinary MCR with (13.86±0.41) mg/g. In addition to Yu county, female individuals had higher urinary ACR compared to males in other counties, whereas female individuals had lower urinary MCR compared to males in 10 counties. Multivariate logistic regression analysis results showed that elevated triglyceride, fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, age, body mass index and gender were independent influencing factors of abnormal urinary ACR and MCR (all P<0.05). Elevated blood homocysteine and low educational level were independent influencing factors of urinary MCR abnormality (both P<0.05). Conclusions:There are differences of gender and region in urinary ACR and MCR among individuals aged 40 years old and above in the 10 counties of Shanxi province. Triglyceride, fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, age, gender, and body mass index are independent related factors of abnormal urinary ACR and MCR. Blood homocysteine and education level are independent related factors of abnormal urinary MCR.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with task-oriented rehabilitation training single pellet reaching and grasping (SPG) on the motor function of forelimb in rats with unilateral contusion of C₅ spinal cord. MethodsA total of 60 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (sham group), spinal cord injury (SCI) group, tDCS group, SPG group, false group and tDCS+SPG group, with ten rats in each group. Only C₅ lamina was removed in the sham group, and the C₅ spinal cord contusion model was established by IH spinal cord impactor in the other five groups. The rats received tDCS in tDCS group, SPG in SPG group, tDCS without current in false group, tDCS combined with SPG in tDCS+SPG group, and no treatment in the SCI and the sham groups. The rats were evaluated with Rearing and Grooming tests, and motor-evoked potential (MEP). ResultsFour weeks after operation, compared with SCI group, the scores of Rearing and Grooming increased in tDCS group and tDCS+SPG group (P < 0.05), and they were more in the tDCS+SPG group than in tDCS group and SPG group (P < 0.05); the score of Grooming increased in SPG group (P < 0.05); while the amplitude of MEP increased in tDCS group, SPG group and tDCS+SPG group (P < 0.05), and the latency shortened in tDCS group and tDCS+SPG group (P < 0.05); and the amplitude increased more in tDCS+SPG group than in tDCS group and SPG group (P < 0.01). ConclusiontDCS could promote the recovery of motor function in rats with SCI, and the combination therapy of tDCS and task-oriented rehabilitation training is more effective.

OBJECTIVE To study the efficacy of sinapine thiocyanate dissoluble microneedle （ST-DMN） for acupoint administration against bronchial asthma （BA）. METHODS The network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques were used to screen the core targets of sinapine thiocyanate （ST） against BA， and the pharmacodynamics of the top 3 core targets was studied. Firstly， ST-DMN was prepared （drug loading of ST was 1 mg/tablet）； secondly， 30 rats were divided into blank control group， model control group， blank microneedle group， Sinapine powder plaster group （positive control group） and ST-DMN group. Except for the blank control group， rats of other groups were sensitized with 10% ovalbumin （containing aluminum hydroxide adjuvant） and nebulized with 1% ovalbumin to induce the BA model. After modeling， blank control group did not receive any intervention； normal saline was applied to the Feishu acupoint and Dazhui acupoint of the rats in the model control group， while the blank microneedle group， Sinapine powder plaster group and ST-DMN group were given blank microneedle， Sinapis alba powder （plaster， 1.5 g） and ST-DMN （3 tablets at 2 acupoints） at same acupoint， once a day， for 28 consecutive days. After administration， the general symptoms were observed and the body mass of the rats was measured.pathological changes of lung tissues in rats was observed； the levels of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 （PTGS2）， GNYL matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9） and interleukin-2 （IL-2）in serum， bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） and lung tissues were determined. RESULTS Results of network pharmacology and molecular docking showed that the key targets of ST against BA were identified as PTGS2， MMP-9， IL-2， epidermal growth factor receptor， heat shock protein90AA1， etc. Pharmacodynamic experiments showed that compared with model control group， relieved cough， restored hair color， sensitive behavior， stable respiration and increased body weight were all found in ST-DMN group； the histopathological changes as the structure of lung tissue， infiltration of alveolar epithelial cells and pulmonary interstitial inflammatory cells were improved to different extent； the levels of PTGS2， MMP-9 and IL-2 in serum， BALF and lung tissue were significantly reduced （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS The anti-BA effect of ST-DMN acupoint administration is good， the mechanism of which may be associated with decreasing the levels of PTGS2， MMP-9 and IL-2 in serum， BALF and lung tissue.

The gummy smile means excessive gingival display, which impairs patients’ appearance, psychological status, and social relationships. With the development of orthodontics, orthognathics, periodontics, and plastic surgeries, the treatment of the gummy smile turned into comprehensive multidisciplinary approaches. The etiology and recently developed approaches will be reviewed in this article.

The gummy smile means excessive gingival display, which impairs patients’ appearance, psychological status, and social relationships. With the development of orthodontics, orthognathics, periodontics, and plastic surgeries, the treatment of the gummy smile turned into comprehensive multidisciplinary approaches. The etiology and recently developed approaches will be reviewed in this article.

The gummy smile means excessive gingival display, which impairs patients’ appearance, psychological status, and social relationships. With the development of orthodontics, orthognathics, periodontics, and plastic surgeries, the treatment of the gummy smile turned into comprehensive multidisciplinary approaches. The etiology and recently developed approaches will be reviewed in this article.

The gummy smile means excessive gingival display, which impairs patients’ appearance, psychological status, and social relationships. With the development of orthodontics, orthognathics, periodontics, and plastic surgeries, the treatment of the gummy smile turned into comprehensive multidisciplinary approaches. The etiology and recently developed approaches will be reviewed in this article.

Metabolic engineering has been developed for nearly 30 years since the early 1990s, and it has given a great impetus to microbial strain breeding and improvement. Aromatic chemicals are a variety of important chemicals that can be produced by microbial fermentation and are widely used in the pharmaceutical, food, feed, and material industry. Microbial cells can be engineered to accumulate a variety of useful aromatic chemicals in a targeted manner through rational engineering of the biosynthetic pathways of shikimate and the derived aromatic amino acids. This review summarizes the metabolic engineering strategies and biosynthetic pathways for the production of aromatic chemicals developed in the past 30 years, with the aim to provide a valuable reference and promote the research in this field.
Biosynthetic Pathways ; Fermentation ; Metabolic Engineering ; Shikimic Acid

Dopamine is the precursor of a variety of natural antioxidant compounds. In the body, dopamine acts as a neurotransmitter that regulates a variety of physiological functions of the central nervous system. Thus, dopamine is used for the clinical treatment of various types of shock. Dopamine could be produced by engineered microbes, but with low efficiency. In this study, DOPA decarboxylase gene from Sus scrofa (Ssddc) was cloned into plasmids with different copy numbers, and transformed into a previously developed L-DOPA producing strain Escherichia coli T004. The resulted strain was capable of producing dopamine from glucose directly. To further improve the production of dopamine, a sequence-based homology alignment mining (SHAM) strategy was applied to screen more efficient DOPA decarboxylases, and five DOPA decarboxylase genes were selected from 100 candidates. In shake-flask fermentation, the DOPA decarboxylase gene from Homo sapiens (Hsddc) showed the highest dopamine production (3.33 g/L), while the DOPA decarboxylase gene from Drosophila Melanogaster (Dmddc) showed the least residual L-DOPA concentration (0.02 g/L). In 5 L fed-batch fermentations, production of dopamine by the two engineered strains reached 13.3 g/L and 16.2 g/L, respectively. The residual concentrations of L-DOPA were 0.45 g/L and 0.23 g/L, respectively. Finally, the Ssddc and Dmddc genes were integrated into the genome of E. coli T004 to obtain genetically stable dopamine-producing strains. In 5 L fed-batch fermentation, 17.7 g/L of dopamine was produced, which records the highest titer reported to date.
Animals ; Dopa Decarboxylase/genetics* ; Dopamine/biosynthesis* ; Drosophila melanogaster/genetics* ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Humans ; Metabolic Engineering