The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) gene family is an important regulator for plant growth hormone signaling, involved in plant growth, development, as well as response to environmental stresses. In the present study, we identified SmIAA7 which is potentially associated with Salvia miltiorrhiza leaf development through comparatively analyzed the transcriptome data from different pinnate leaves. SmIAA7 was successfully isolated from S. miltiorrhiza using the specific primers. Then subsequent bioinformatic analysis, prokaryotic expression and purification, subcellular localization, and induction expression analysis under auxin and abiotic stress were performed. The full-length of SmIAA7 contained an ORF of 684 bp encoding a protein of 227 amino acid with a molecular weight of 25.3 kD. Conserved domain analysis showed that SmIAA7 contains the conserved Aux_IAA domain (pfam02309). Sequence analysis and phylogenetic tree analysis results indicated SmIAA7 was phylogenetically close to IAA7 and IAA14 from other plants, suggesting SmIAA7 involved in plant growth and development as well as response to environmental stresses. The prokaryotic expression vector pET28a-SmIAA7 was constructed and SmIAA7 recombinant protein was successfully expressed in E. coli Rosetta (DE3) strain. Subcellular localization experiment demonstrated that SmIAA7 localized in the nucleus of plant cells. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR results showed that the expression level of SmIAA7 was upregulated in response to auxin. Drought, low temperature, and salt stress significantly increased the transcript level of SmIAA7 gene. This study lays a foundation for further elucidating the role of SmIAA7 in leaf development, signal transduction, and stress defense in S. miltiorrhiza.

Objective: The effect on fat infiltration (FI) of paraspinal muscles in degenerative lumbar spinal diseases has been demonstrated except for spinopelvic parameters. The present study is to identify the effect of spinopelvic parameters on FI of paraspinal muscle (PSM) and psoas major muscle (PMM) in patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. Methods: A single-center, retrospective cross-sectional study of 160 patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) and lumbar stenosis (LSS) who had lateral full-spine x-ray and lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging was conducted. PSM and PMM FIs were defined as the ratio of fat to its muscle cross-sectional area. The FIs were compared among patients with different pelvic tilt (PT) and pelvic incidence (PI), respectively. Results: The PSM FI correlated significantly with pelvic parameters in DLS patients, but not in LSS patients. The PSM FI in pelvic retroversion (PT > 25°) was 0.54 ± 0.13, which was significantly higher in DLS patients than in normal pelvis (0.41 ± 0.14) and pelvic anteversion (PT < 5°) (0.34 ± 0.12). The PSM FI of DLS patients with large PI ( > 60°) was 0.50 ± 0.13, which was higher than those with small ( < 45°) and normal PI (0.37 ± 0.11 and 0.36 ± 0.13). However, the PSM FI of LSS patients didn’t change significantly with PT or PI. Moreover, the PMM FI was about 0.10–0.15, which was significantly lower than the PSM FI, and changed with PT and PI in a similar way of PSM FI with much less in magnitude. Conclusion FI of the PSMs increased with greater pelvic retroversion or larger pelvic incidence in DLS patients, but not in LSS patients.

Objective: The effect on fat infiltration (FI) of paraspinal muscles in degenerative lumbar spinal diseases has been demonstrated except for spinopelvic parameters. The present study is to identify the effect of spinopelvic parameters on FI of paraspinal muscle (PSM) and psoas major muscle (PMM) in patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. Methods: A single-center, retrospective cross-sectional study of 160 patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) and lumbar stenosis (LSS) who had lateral full-spine x-ray and lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging was conducted. PSM and PMM FIs were defined as the ratio of fat to its muscle cross-sectional area. The FIs were compared among patients with different pelvic tilt (PT) and pelvic incidence (PI), respectively. Results: The PSM FI correlated significantly with pelvic parameters in DLS patients, but not in LSS patients. The PSM FI in pelvic retroversion (PT > 25°) was 0.54 ± 0.13, which was significantly higher in DLS patients than in normal pelvis (0.41 ± 0.14) and pelvic anteversion (PT < 5°) (0.34 ± 0.12). The PSM FI of DLS patients with large PI ( > 60°) was 0.50 ± 0.13, which was higher than those with small ( < 45°) and normal PI (0.37 ± 0.11 and 0.36 ± 0.13). However, the PSM FI of LSS patients didn’t change significantly with PT or PI. Moreover, the PMM FI was about 0.10–0.15, which was significantly lower than the PSM FI, and changed with PT and PI in a similar way of PSM FI with much less in magnitude. Conclusion FI of the PSMs increased with greater pelvic retroversion or larger pelvic incidence in DLS patients, but not in LSS patients.

The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) continues to rise, and there are no effective drugs to treat it. The immune microenvironment plays an important role in the development of ICC and is currently a research hotspot. Icaritin (ICA) is an innovative traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. It is considered to have potential immunoregulatory and anti-tumor effects, which is potentially consistent with the understanding of "Fuzheng" in the treatment of tumor in traditional Chinese medicine. However, whether ICA can be used to treat ICC has not been reported. Therefore, in this study, sgp19/kRas, an in situ ICC mouse model with intact immune system, was selected to evaluate the efficacy of ICA in the treatment of ICC in vivo for the first time, and the effects of ICA on the tumor immune microenvironment of ICC mice were analyzed by flow cytometry. This experiment was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Capital Medical University (approval number: AEEI-2023-138). In this study, sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model was treated with oral gavage of 100 mg·kg^-1 ICA. We found that ICA significantly inhibited tumor growth and tumor cell proliferation in the sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model after 3 weeks of treatment. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that ICA treatment markedly reduced the proportion of M2 macrophages and increased the number of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells. In vitro experiments demonstrated that ICA promoted macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype while inhibiting polarization towards the M2 phenotype. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis suggested that ICA enhanced Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) expression, influencing macrophage nitric oxide metabolism synthesis pathways and receptor-related activities, thereby regulating macrophage polarization. In summary, this study demonstrates that ICA treatment significantly delays tumor progression in sgp19/kRas ICC mouse models. Mechanistically, ICA may achieve its anti-ICC effects by upregulating TLR9 receptor expression levels, promoting macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype, and altering the tumor immune microenvironment.

Purpose::The reconstruction of Allen's type IV fingertip amputation is a clinical challenge. Our team designed bilateral unequal-sized hallux osteo-onychocutaneous free flaps for the long-term reconstruction of Allen's type IV fingertip amputation and conducted a retrospective study with a 5-year follow-up aims to evaluate the effects of this technique.Methods::A retrospective analysis with a 5-year follow-up including 13 patients with Allen's type IV fingertip amputation who were admitted to our hospital from January 2010 to January 2017 was conducted. The patients were treated with bilateral unequal-sized hallux osteo-onychocutaneous free flaps. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and complications were recorded, and the survival rate of the transplanted flaps was calculated. During the 5-year follow-up after operation, the nail growth time was recorded and the finger appearance was observed. At the last follow-up appointment, the length, width, and girth of the reconstructed fingertip and contralateral normal fingertip, range of motion of the reconstructed fingertip and contralateral normal fingertip, Semmes-Weinstein test (for the evaluation of tactile sensation), and two-point discrimination testing results were recorded. SPSS 22.0 software was used for the statistical analysis and the data are presented as mean ± SD.Results::The mean operation time was (5.62 ± 0.51) h, the mean intraoperative blood loss was (34.15 ± 3.13) mL, and the survival rate of the transplanted flaps was 100%. During the 5-year follow-up, the average nail growth time was (10.14 ± 1.98) months and the average bone union time was (3.78 ± 0.91) months. The length, width, and girth of the reconstructed fingertip were (31.52 ± 3.73) mm, (17.82 ± 1.74) mm, and (59.75 ± 3.04) mm, respectively, which did not differ from those of the contralateral normal fingertip. The range of motion of the reconstructed fingertip was (12.15 ± 2.79) degrees which is different from that of the contralateral normal fingertip. The average tactile sensation evaluated via the Semmes-Weinstein test and the average two-point discrimination test of the reconstructed fingertip were (0.39 ± 0.17) g and (7.46 ± 1.14) mm, respectively, which were not different from those of the contralateral normal fingertip. The average Maryland score of feet in the donor area was 87.66 ± 7.39, which was satisfactory.Conclusion::Bilateral unequal-sized hallux osteo-onychocutaneous free flaps are an effective method to reconstruct Allen's type IV fingertip amputations with a satisfactory appearance and good sensory function.

Objective To observe the clinical effect of Huayu Shengxin Mixture(composed of Astragali Radix,Angelicae Sinensis Radix,Codonopsis Radix,Chuanxiong Rhizoma,Persicae Semen,Leonuri Herba,Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma,Zingiberis Rhizoma Praeparatum,and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle)combined with thunder-fire moxibustion on promoting endometrial repair and preventing intrauterine adhesions after induced abortion.Methods Sixty patients diagnosed as early intrauterine pregnancy and voluntarily to take abortion were randomly divided into control group and observation group,with 30 cases in each group.The control group was given estrogen therapy by oral use of Progynova starting from the day of induced abortion,and the observation group was given Huayu Shengxin Mixture combined with thunder-fire moxibustion on acupoints of Zhongji(CV3),Shenque(CV8),Guanyuan(CV4),bilateral Zigong(Ex-CA07),and bilateral Guilai(ST29)on the basis of treatment for the control group.The repair of endometrium,uterine artery blood flow,the continuity induced of uterine junctional zone and the incidence of adverse reactions of the two groups were observed.Results(1)For the repair of endometrium,the vaginal bleeding time and time for the return of menses in the observation group were significantly shortened and the endometrial thickness was significantly thickened as compared with those in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)The improvement of uterine artery blood flow indicators of bilateral uterine artery pulsatility index(PI),resistance index(RI)and the mean values of the ratio of peak systolic velocity to end diastolic velocity(S/D)in the observation group was superior to that in the control group,but the differences of the uterine artery blood flow indicators except for S/D of the right uterine artery were all insignificant(P＞0.05).(3)In terms of the continuity of uterine junctional zone,the patients with the interruption of uterine junctional zone in the observation group were less than those in the control group,indicating that the continuity of uterine junctional zone was significantly superior to that in the control group and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(4)During the treatment,there were no serious adverse reactions occurring in the two groups,with high safety.Conclusion The treatment with the combination of Huayu Shengxin Mixture and thunder-fire moxibustion on the basis of post-abortion estrogen therapy is more effective on promoting the repair of endometrium and preventing intrauterine adhesions.

Molecular imprinting is a biomimetic technique that simulates the specific recognition of biological macromolecules such as antibody. Based on molecular imprinting and high-specificity affinity analysis,the biomimetic imprinting affinity analysis (BIA) possesses many advantages such as high sensitivity,strong tolerance,good specificity and low cost,and thus,it has shown excellent prospects in food safety detection,pharmaceutical analysis and environmental pollution monitoring. In this review,the construction methods of recognition interfaces for BIA were summarized,including bulk polymerization,electro-polymerization and surface molecular imprinting. The application of molecularly imprinted polymers in different analysis methods,such as radiolabeled affinity analysis,enzyme-labeled affinity analysis,fluorescence-labeled affinity analysis,chemiluminescence affinity analysis and electrochemical immunosensor was mainly discussed. Furthermore,the challenges and future development trends of BIA in practical application were elucidated. This review might provide new reference ideas and technical supports for the further development of BIA technique.

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Objective To explore characteristics of co-infection of Chlamydia pneumoniae(Cpn)and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),and identify their effect on SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammatory response.Methods Patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)who received treatment in a hospital in Chenzhou City from December 20,2022 to February 20,2023 were selected.According to the severity of COVID-19,severe and critical cases were classified as the severe symptom group,while mild and moderate cases were classified as the mild symptom group.Meanwhile,according to the age of patients(≥18 years old as adults,＜18 years old as juveniles),they were divided into the adult severe symptom group,adult mild symptom group,juvenile severe symptom group,and juvenile mild symptom group.Propensity score was adopted to match age,gender,and under-lying diseases of patients in severe symptom and mild symptom group in a 1∶1 ratio.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF),throat swabs,and serum specimens of patients were collected.Cpn IgG/IgM antibody was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),levels of 12 common cytokines(including interleukin-8[IL-8])in BALF were detected by flow cytometry,differences among groups were compared.Results A total of 102 patients were included,with 61 severe and critical(severe symptom)patients,as well as 41 mild and moderate(mild symp-tom)patients.There were 71 patients aged ≥18 years and 31 juvenile patients aged＜18 years.There were 39 pa-tients in the adult severe symptom group and 32 in the adult mild symptom group,and 30 pairs were successfully matched through propensity score analysis.There were 22 patients in the juvenile severe symptom group and 9 in the juvenile mild symptom group,and 8 pairs were successfully matched through propensity score analysis.Among COVID-19 patients,the positive rates of Cpn IgG and IgM were 36.27％(n=37)and 8.82％(n=9),respective-ly,with 1 case positive for both Cpn IgG and IgM.The level of interferon(IFN)-α in serum specimens from adult patients with severe symptom combined with positive Cpn IgG was higher than that of IgG negative patients(P=0.037).There was no statistically significant difference in the levels of other cytokines in BALF and serum speci-mens between the two groups of patients(all P＞0.05).The levels of IL-8 and IL-17 in serum specimens of patients with positive Cpn IgG in the adult mild symptom group were both higher than those in Cpn IgG negative patients(both P＜0.05).The levels of IL-8 in both BALF and serum specimens from Cpn IgM positivity patients in the ju-venile mild symptom group were higher than those from patients with negative Cpn IgM(both P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis results showed that Cpn IgG and IgM positivity were not risk factors for the development of se-vere COVID-19.Conclusion Combined Cpn infection is not a risk factor for the development of severe symptom in COVID-19 patients,and Cpn infection has limited impact on the secretion of inflammatory factors caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Objective To design a portable intelligent cleaner for medical lumen instruments to enhance cleaning efficiency.Methods The portable intelligent cleaner had a box-body shape and a shell made of 304 stainless steel,which was composed of a circuit control board,a micro pump,lithium batteries,a charging interface,a rinse tube and connectors.The circuit control board used a STM32G030C8T6 integraged circuit,which was equipped with a countdown digital tube to display the time left for cleaning;the micro pump and lithium batteries were placed at the inner wall of the box bottom,the charging interface and water inlet/outlet inteface were put on the outside of the front wall of the box bottom,the water inlet/outlet interface was connected with a silicon rinse tube linked to an adapter at its distal end,and the adapters with different calibers were compatible with sizes of medical lumen instruments.Totally 9 672 pieces of lumen instruments received by some hospital's disinfection supply center from May to October 2021 were divided into 2 groups with the convenience sampling method,with 4 836 pieces in each group.The odd-numbered instruments were enrolled into a control group and cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner and a lumen brush,and the even-numbered instruments were included into an experimental group and cleaned conventionally after pretreatment by the intelligent cleaner.The two groups were compared in terms of eaning efficiency and satisfaction.Results Testing by visual inspection,magnifying glass with light source and white stripe method showed that the experimental group behaved better than the control group in the cleaning qualification rate,whose satisfaction rate(100％)was also higher than that of the control group(86.53％),with all the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion The portable cleaner with easy operation enhances the cleaning quality and efficiency for medical lumen instruments.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(10):114-117]