Objective To investigate the correlation between the appendicular skeletal mass index(ASMI)and os-teoporosis(OP)in postmenopausal patients with type 2 diabetes(T2DM).Methods 164 hospitalized postmeno-pausal elderly T2DM patients were selected and their bone density(BMD)and appendicular skeletal mass were measured using dual energy X-ray absorption method(DXA).ASMI=appendicular skeletal mass/height2(kg/m2),and they were divided into OP group and non OP group based on T value.The general clinical data,blood biochemical indicators,and ASMI between the two groups were compared,and Logistic regression analysis,ROC curve were further used to analyze the correlation and diagnostic power.Results Compared with non OP group,OP group had a higher incidence of sarcopenia(SAC)(P＜0.05);the differences in age,ASMI,body mass index(BMI),and estradiol(E2)had significant differences between the two groups(P＜0.05);Logistic regression analysis showed that the reduction of ASMI[OR=0.133,95％CI(0.029-0.611)],BMI[OR=0.785,95％CI(0.625-0.985)],and E2[OR=0.967,95％CI(0.942-0.993)]were protective factors for OP;receiver operating curve(ROC)suggested that the AUC of ASMI for OP prediction was 0.752[95％CI(0.632-0.872),P＜0.001]with sensitivity 87.5％,specificity 47.8％,and the best diagnostic value was 5.52 kg/m2.Conclusion The reduction of ASMI,BMI,and E2 is positively correlated with the occurrence of osteoporosis.ASMI is an important protective factor for osteoporosis.Early OP screening and risk factor assessment should be conducted for elderly postmenopausal T2DM patients,and early intervention measures should be taken to reduce the risk of falls and fractures.

Objective To employ a mouse model of ABI3BP gene deletion for the detection of postnatal changes in body weight and glucose metabolism and establish a different method of creating a mouse model of low birth weight.Methods Heterozygote mice were mated to produce ABI3BP gene knockout homozygote(ABI3BP-/-)mice,heterozygote(ABI3BP+/)mice,and wild-type(WT)mice.Adult mice from all three groups were evaluated for glucose metabolism markers,including the fasting blood glucose level,glucose tolerance,and insulin tolerance.Additionally,body weight was measured at various postnatal time periods,and the weight ratio of critical organs in adulthood was calculated.Results The gene sequencing result of the polymerase chain reaction product of ABI3BP-/-mice showed that frameshift mutations occurred in the knockout region,with quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrating significantly reduced ABI3BP expression in ABI3BP-/-mice compared with that in WT mice.Notably,the birth weight of ABI3BP-/-mice(1.25±0.08 g)was markedly lower than that of WT mice(1.34±0.12 g)(P＜0.05).Conversely,the weight of adult(120 d)ABI3BP-/mice(27.70±1.93 g)was significantly higher than that of WT mice(23.64±1.34 g)(P＜0.01).The ratios of key organ weights to body weight were not significantly different between the groups(P＞0.05).Fasting blood glucose and insulin tolerance tests showed no significant variations between the groups.However,glucose tolerance tests indicated that ABI3BP-/-mice had lower blood glucose levels(15.68±7.04 mmol/L)than WT mice(23.01±5.75 mmol/L).Conclusions Deletion of the ABI3BP gene result in mice with low birth weight,poor growth recuperation,and inadequate glucose tolerance in adulthood,similar to the clinical growth traits of low-birth-weight human neonates.Therefore,this mouse model is a promising choice for the study of low birth weight.

Objective To observe the application effect of protease combined with quadruple therapy in the remedial treatment of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) eradication failure. Methods A total of 100 patients with Hp infection who failed in initial treatment were selected as the study objects, and were divided into control group (50 cases) and observation group (50 cases), and two groups received a course of treatment for 14 days. The control group was given esomeprazole enteric-coated tablets, amoxicillin capsules, furazolidone tablets and colloidal bismuth pectin capsules. The observation group was given streptomycin granule and sodium bicarbonate powder on the basis of the control group. Hp eradication rates were calculated for intention to treat (ITT) analysis and per protocol (PP) analysis. The symptoms and adverse drug reactions before and after treatment were recorded in two groups. Results In the control group, 18 cases were successfully eradicated, the eradication rate by ITT analysis was 36%, and the eradication rate by PP analysis was 36%. In the observation group, 37 patients had negative ¹⁴C breath test results, with an eradication rate of 74% by ITT analysis and 74% by TT analysis. There was statistical significance in the eradication rate between the two groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in compliance between the two groups (P>0.05). The improvement of abdominal pain symptoms before and after eradication was statistically significant between the two groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion The remedial treatment regimen of streptomycin combined with quadruple therapy can improve the eradication rate of Hp infection patients whose initial eradication failed.

Mammography has played an essential role in the screening and treatment of breast cancer. However, the application of X-rays will also increase the risks of breast cancer while improving its detection rate. Moreover, the risks will increase with an increase in the radiation dose. Since the glandular tissue in breasts is sensitive to radiation, the evaluation of the average glandular dose (AGD) in mammography has attracted considerable international attention. Compared to relatively mature dosimetric studies on traditional two-dimension mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis, the method for the dose evaluation of the new cone beam CT for breasts are still subjected to research. This paper reviews and explores the current status of studies on the assessment method and relevant influencing factors of AGD under different types of mammography equipment.

Objective To establish a method to characterize the size and density of the female breast based on three-dimensional images of breast cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), and describe the breast characteristics of women in a region of China, and to explore its value in dosimetric assessment for breast CBCT examinees. Methods We retrospectively surveyed the breast CBCT images of 203 women in a grade A tertiary hospital in a southwestern city of China from January 2021 to March 2023. The effective diameter of the breast at the chest-wall (D_eff), chest wall-to-nipple length (CNL), the effective diameter of the breast at half of CNL (D_h/2), breast volume (BV), glandular volume (GV), and volumetric breast density (VBD) were measured using the specific tools of the Koning Imaging Viewer system. The differences between groups were assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test. The correlation between variables was assessed using the Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results The median values of D_eff, D_h/2, CNL, BV, GV, and VBD of the surveyed population were 11.9 cm, 8.3 cm, 6.5 cm, 327.7 cm³, 47.0 cm³, and 15.4%, respectively. GV and VBD had significant negative correlations with age. D_eff, D_h/2, CNL, and BV were significantly negatively correlated with VBD. Conclusion We established a quantitative method to analyze female breast characteristics based on three-dimensional breast CBCT images, and preliminarily characterized the female breast in a region of China, which can provide methodological support for the investigation of female breast characteristics in various regions of China in the future.

Cell membrane affinity chromatography has been widely applied in membrane protein (MP)-targeted drug screening and interaction analysis. However, in current methods, the MP sources are derived from cell lines or recombinant protein expression, which are time-consuming for cell culture or purification, and also difficult to ensure the purity and consistent orientation of MPs in the chromatographic stationary phase. In this study, a novel in situ synthesis membrane protein affinity chromatography (iSMAC) method was developed utilizing cell-free protein expression (CFE) and covalent immobilized affinity chromatography, which achieved efficient in situ synthesis and unidirectional insertion of MPs into liposomes in the stationary phase. The advantages of iSMAC are: 1) There is no need to culture cells or prepare recombinant proteins; 2) Specific and purified MPs with stable and controllable content can be obtained within 2 h; 3) MPs maintain the transmembrane structure and a consistent orientation in the chromatographic stationary phase; 4) The flexible and personalized construction of cDNAs makes it possible to analyze drug binding sites. iSMAC was successfully applied to screen PDGFRβ inhibitors from Salvia miltiorrhiza and Schisandra chinensis. Micro columns prepared by in-situ synthesis maintain satisfactory analysis activity within 72 h. Two new PDGFRβ inhibitors, salvianolic acid B and gomisin D, were screened out with K _D values of 13.44 and 7.39 μmol/L, respectively. In vitro experiments confirmed that the two compounds decreased α-SMA and collagen Ӏ mRNA levels raised by TGF-β in HSC-T6 cells through regulating the phosphorylation of p38, AKT and ERK. In vivo, Sal B could also attenuate CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis by downregulating PDGFRβ downstream related protein levels. The iSMAC method can be applied to other general MPs, and provides a practical approach for the rapid preparation of MP-immobilized or other biological solid-phase materials.

ObjectiveTo investigate the in vivo effect of dietary cichoric acid supplement in allergic asthmatic mice. MethodsSixteen five-week-old female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups： normal group （control）， allergic asthmatic group （OVA）， dietary cichoric acid group （OVA + CA）， and drug-control group （OVA + DEX）. Ovalbumin was applied to induce allergic asthmatic murine model. During the whole experiment， mice were fed with feed that contained 400 mg/kg cichoric acid or no cichoric acid. The body weight changes and nasal symptoms were observed and recorded during the experiment. After sacrifice， the pulmonary histopathological changes， the number and proportion of peripheral inflammatory cells， and the percentages of subsets of helper T cell （Th） and cytotoxic T cell （Tc） in lung tissues were measured. ResultsCompared with OVA group， the mice in OVA + CA group showed alleviated body weight loss and nasal symptoms （P<0.05）， decreased number of eosinophils and eosinophil/lymphocyte ratio in peripheral blood （P<0.05）， alleviated inflammatory infiltration and goblet cell proliferation of lungs tissues （P<0.05）， decreased percentages of Th2， Th17 ， Tc2， Tc17 in lungs （P<0.001）， while the percentages of Th1 and Tc1 did not change （P>0.05）. ConclusionsDietary cichoric acid supplementation could improve in vivo inflammation in allergic asthmatic mice.

Astragali Radix(AR)is a clinically used herbal medicine with multiple immunomodulatory activities that can strengthen the activity and cytotoxicity of natural killer(NK)cells.However,owing to the complexity of its composition,the specific active ingredients in AR that act on NK cells are not clear yet.Cell membrane chromatography(CMC)is mainly used to screen the active ingredients in a complex system of herbal medicines.In this study,a new comprehensive two-dimensional(2D)NK-92MI CMC/C18 column/time-of-flight mass spectrometry(TOFMS)system was established to screen for potential NK cell acti-vators.To obtain a higher column efficiency,3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane-modified silica was synthesized to prepare the NK-92MI CMC column.In total,nine components in AR were screened from this system,which could be washed out from the NK-92MI/CMC column after 10 min,and they showed good affinity for NK-92MI/CMC column.Two representative active compounds of AR,isoastragaloside Ⅰ and astragaloside Ⅳ,promoted the killing effect of NK cells on K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner.It can thus suggest that isoastragaloside Ⅰ and astragaloside Ⅳ are the main immunomodulatory compo-nents of AR.This comprehensive 2D NK-92MI CMC analytical system is a practical method for screening immune cell activators from other herbal medicines with immunomodulatory effects.

Adult ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Pyridones/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome

【Objective】 To study the therapeutic effects of tetrahydrocurcumin(THC) via intraperitoneal(i.p.) injection on the respiratory symptoms and inflammatory responses in asthmatic mice. 【Methods】 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, including normal control group, ovalbumin(OVA) -induced model group, positive group and THC administration group. The latter two groups were treated with 2.5 mg/kg of dexamethasone(DEX) or 20 mg/kg of THC via i.p. injection from Day 21 to Day25. The weight changes and nasal symptoms were recorded before and after OVA challenge. The mice were sacrificed at the end of the experiment and the lung tissue and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were collected for assessment of histopathological alterations, Th cell subsets and related cytokine level. 【Results】 After THC treatment via i.p. injection, the asthmatic mice’s rubbing frequencies were reduced(P < 0.05) with a difference of 5.2 between the two means(95% CI = 0.66 to 9.74), lungs’pathological scores were reduced(P < 0.05) with a difference between the two means being 1.6(95% CI = 0.32 to 2.88), mucus production induced by hyperplasia of goblet cells was alleviated(P < 0.0001) with a difference between the two means being 9.56(95% CI = 5.05 to 14.07). Besides, compared with OVA group, the percentages of Th2 and Th17 cells were reduced(P < 0.01) with a difference between the two means being 1.49 and 2.15(95% CI = 0.50 to 2.49 and 0.72 to 3.58), respectively. The levels of interleukin(IL) -4, IL-5, IL-13 and IL-17A in BALF were decreased(P < 0.05) with a difference between the two means being 5.45, 4.13, 5.17 and 2.44 (95% CI = 1.95 to 8.94, 1.08 to 7.19, 0.80 to 9.54 and -0.30 to 5.17), respectively. The further comparison between THC and DEX groups showed no significant difference(P > 0.05) in the lung pathological change, Th17 cells, IL-13, and IL-17A levels. 【Conclusions】 It is concluded that i.p. injection of THC could effectively alleviate the respiratory symptoms and inhibit inflammatory reaction in asthmatic mice in short time with high safety. Therefore, i.p. injection of THC has the potential value to be the alternative therapeutic strategy for asthma.