Objective To investigate the predictive value of new simplified insulin resistance(IR)assessment indexes in identifying subclinical left ventricular systolic function impairment in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A total of 150 T2DM patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF≥50%)who were admitted to Department of Endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from June 2021 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.All patients underwent two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography to measure left ventricular global longitudinal strain(GLS).According to GLS value,the subjects were divided into the normal group(GLS≥18%group,n=80)and the impaired group(GLS<18%group,n=70).Some new simplified IR assessment indicators were calculated and compared between the two groups,including body mass index(BMI),TG/HDL-C ratio,triglyceride-glucose(TyG)index,TyG-BMI index,TyG-WHR and metabolic score for IR(METS-IR).Correlation between the GLS and the new simplified IR assessment indexes was analyzed.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of different simplified IR assessment indexes,with the area under the curve(AUC)calculated.Furthermore,according to whether the subjects were complicated with hypertension,binary logistics regression analysis was performed to explore the independent correlation between the simplified IR assessment index and GLS<18%.Results Total 150 were included with aged(54.5±13.7)years with 96(64.0%)men and 54(36.0%)women.Compared with the GLS≥18%group,the TG/HDL-C ratio,TyG index,TyG-BMI,and METS-IR of subjects in the GLS<18%group were significantly increased(P<0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that TG/HDL-C ratio,TyG index,TyG-BMI,TyG-WHR,and METS-IR were negatively correlated with GLS(P<0.05).ROC analysis showed that TyG index had a certain predictive value for the evaluation of GLS<18%(AUC=0.678,95%CI 0.591-0.765,P<0.001).Stratification based on hypertension and further adjusting for confounding factors,TyG index remains significantly associated with GLS<18%(OR=3.249,95%CI 1.045-10.103,P=0.042).Conclusions The novel simplified insulin resistance evaluation indexes are closely associated with left ventricular subclinical systolic dysfunction in T2DM patients with preserved ejection fraction.TyG index is an effective index to identify left ventricular subclinical dysfunction in these populations.

Bacterial biofilms gave rise to persistent infections and multi-organ failure, thereby posing a serious threat to human health. Biofilms were formed by cross-linking of hydrophobic extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), such as proteins, polysaccharides, and eDNA, which were synthesized by bacteria themselves after adhesion and colonization on biological surfaces. They had the characteristics of dense structure, high adhesiveness and low drug permeability, and had been found in many human organs or tissues, such as the brain, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and skeleton. By releasing pro-inflammatory bacterial metabolites including endotoxins, exotoxins and interleukin, biofilms stimulated the body’s immune system to secrete inflammatory factors. These factors triggered local inflammation and chronic infections. Those were the key reason for the failure of traditional clinical drug therapy for infectious diseases.In order to cope with the increasingly severe drug-resistant infections, it was urgent to develop new therapeutic strategies for bacterial-biofilm eradication and anti-bacterial infections. Based on the nanoscale structure and biocompatible activity, nanobiomaterials had the advantages of specific targeting, intelligent delivery, high drug loading and low toxicity, which could realize efficient intervention and precise treatment of drug-resistant bacterial biofilms. This paper highlighted multiple strategies of biofilms eradication based on nanobiomaterials. For example, nanobiomaterials combined with EPS degrading enzymes could be used for targeted hydrolysis of bacterial biofilms, and effectively increased the drug enrichment within biofilms. By loading quorum sensing inhibitors, nanotechnology was also an effective strategy for eradicating bacterial biofilms and recovering the infectious symptoms. Nanobiomaterials could intervene the bacterial metabolism and break the bacterial survival homeostasis by blocking the uptake of nutrients. Moreover, energy-driven micro-nano robotics had shown excellent performance in active delivery and biofilm eradication. Micro-nano robots could penetrate physiological barriers by exogenous or endogenous driving modes such as by biological or chemical methods, ultrasound, and magnetic field, and deliver drugs to the infection sites accurately. Achieving this using conventional drugs was difficult. Overall, the paper described the biological properties and drug-resistant molecular mechanisms of bacterial biofilms, and highlighted therapeutic strategies from different perspectives by nanobiomaterials, such as dispersing bacterial mature biofilms, blocking quorum sensing, inhibiting bacterial metabolism, and energy driving penetration. In addition, we presented the key challenges still faced by nanobiomaterials in combating bacterial biofilm infections. Firstly, the dense structure of EPS caused biofilms spatial heterogeneity and metabolic heterogeneity, which created exacting requirements for the design, construction and preparation process of nanobiomaterials. Secondly, biofilm disruption carried the risk of spread and infection the pathogenic bacteria, which might lead to other infections. Finally, we emphasized the role of nanobiomaterials in the development trends and translational prospects in biofilm treatment.

Objective:To explore the changes of serum levels of angiopoictin-1(Angpt1)and endothelin-1(ET-1)in patients with newly-onset atrial fibrillation(AF)after heart valve replacement,and analyze their clinical sig-nificance.Methods:A total of 130 patients who underwent heart valve replacement in our hospital from January 2020 to March 2022 were divided into no AF group(n=72)and AF group(n=58)according to presence of AF within 7d after surgery.Serum levels of Angpt1 and ET-1 were detected by ELISA in two groups;the correlation between serum Angptl and ET-1 was analyzed by Pearson method in AF patients;ROC curve analysis was used to analyze the predictive value of serum Angpt1 and ET-1 levels for postoperative AF in these patients;Logistic re-gression was used to analyze the influencing factors of postoperative AF in these patients.Results:The left atrial diameter(LAD),proportion of NYHA class Ⅳ and cardiopulmonary bypass time in AF group were significantly higher than those of no AF group(P＜0.05 or＜0.01).One day after surgery,compared with no AF group,serum Angpt1 level significantly reduced and ET-1 level significantly increased in AF group(P＜0.001 both).Pearson correlation analysis indicated that serum Angpt1 level was significant inversely correlated with ET-1 level in AF pa-tients(r=-0.366,P=0.005).ROC analysis indicated that area under the curve(AUC)of combined detection of serum Angpt1 and ET-1 in predicting AF after heart valve replacement was significantly higher than those of each single detection(Z=2.761,1.998,P=0.006,0.046).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that LAD,NYHA class Ⅳ,cardiopulmonary bypass time and postoperative ET-1 were independent risk factors for postoperative AF in these patients(OR=1.471～1.739,P＜0.05 or＜0.01),while postoperative Angpt1 was its independent protective factor(OR=0.634,P=0.004).Conclusion:Serum Angpt1 level significantly reduces and ET-1 level significantly increases in patients with newly-onset AF after heart valve replacement.Combined detec-tion of Angpt1 and ET-1 levels possesses high predictive value for postoperative AF.

In this study,the immunological characteristics of the PhoP protein were explored with a two-component system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb).Bioinformatics was used to predict the B and T cell epitopes of the PhoP protein.A re-combinant expression plasmid was constructed by PCR analysis of the phoP sequence and cloning into the prokaryotic expres-sion vector pET-28a(+).Competent Escherichia coli BL21 cells were transformed with the recombinant plasmid and expres-sion was induced with IPTG.The recombinant PhoP protein was purified by affinity chromatography.Serum levels of PhoP-specific antibodies in Mtb-infected mice and tuberculosis(TB)patients were analyzed with an ELISA.BALB/c mice were im-munized with the PhoP recombinant protein by intramuscular injection.Sera of mice were collected and antibody titers were detected with an ELISA and specificity was assessed by West-ern blot analysis.Mouse splenocytes were isolated and the pro-portions of IFN-y-positive cells and cytokine levels were detec-ted with an ELISpot and ELISA,respectively.Bioinformatics i-dentified 24 B cell and 11 T cell epitopes of the PhoP protein.A prokaryotic recombinant vector of PhoP was successfully con-structed and the recombinant PhoP protein was obtained by purification.Specific antibody levels to PhoP in sera of Mtb in-fected mice and TB patients increased significantly,with preci-sion of 99.9％and 82.5％,and specificity of 100％,respectively.PhoP protein immunization successfully induced production of specific antibodies in mice.Stimulated by antigens in vitro,IL-2 and IFN-γ levels were significantly increased in the splenocytes of immunized mice.Immunization with the PhoP protein induce a humoral immune response and Thl-dominated cellular immu-nity,indicating that the PhoP protein was immunogenic with diagnostic efficacy for TB.These results lay a foundation to clari-fy the role of PhoP in Mtb infection and application for diagnosis and prevention of TB.

Objective:To investigate the clinical significance of bone metabolic indexes for disease assessment and curative effect monitoring in multiple myeloma(MM)bone disease(MBD)patients with different blood separation results.Methods:A total of 134 newly diagnosed MM patients treated in Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated TCM-WM-Hebei were enrolled and divided into control group[119 cases,serum,colloid and red blood cell(RBC)from top to bottom of sample]and abnormal group(15 cases,serum,mixed layer of RBC and serum,colloid and RBC from top to bottom of sample)according to the results of blood separation.According to the imaging findings,MBD was classified into grade 0-4,grade 0-2 was mild,and grade 3-4 was severe.The MBD grade of patients in the two groups was analyzed.The curative effect of MBD patients after chemotherapy and the changes of blood separation results and bone metabolic indexes before and after treatment were evaluated.The correlation between β 2-microglobulin(MG)and bone metabolic indexes was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis.Results:In the control group,there were 69 cases of grade 0-2 and 50 cases of grade 3-4,while in the abnormal group,there were 5 cases of grade 0-2 and 10 cases of grade 3-4,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The serum β 2-MG,β-CTX levels in abnormal group were both significantly higher than those in control group,while the levels of P1NP and osteocalcin(OC)were significantly lower(all P＜0.001).In the control group,there were 95 patients with ≥ partial response(PR)and the blood separation results were not changed,while 24 patients with＜PR and 5 of them had abnormal blood separation results.In the abnormal group,9 patients with efficacy≥PR showed normal blood separation results,while 6 patients with efficacy＜PR and 5 of them still remained abnormal blood separation results.Compared with before treatment,β-CTX and β 2-MG of patients with efficacy ≥ PR were significantly decreased but P1NP and OC increased in the control group(all P＜0.00 1),which was the same as abnoraml group(both P＜0.001,P＜0.01).There were no significant changes in the levels of all indexes in the two groups of patients with efficacy＜PR(P＞0.05).Compared with before treatment,the levels of β-CTX and β 2-MG in the control group with unchanged blood separation results were significantly decreased(both P＜0.00l),while the levels of P1NP and OC were significantly increased(P＜0.01,P＜0.001),and the level of each index in the patients transformed to abnormal blood separation result after treatment did not significantly change(P＞0.05);the levels of β-CTX and β 2-MG in the abnormal group transformed to normal blood separation result were significantly decreased(both P＜0.01),while the levels of P1NP and OC were significantly increased(P＜0.001,P＜0.01),and the level of each index in patients with unchanged blood separation results did not significantly change(P＞0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that serumβ 2-MG was positively correlated with β-CTX(r=0.709,P＜0.001),and negatively correlated with P1NP and OC(r=-0.410,r=-0.412,both P＜0.001).Conclusion:MBD patients with abnormal blood separation results have higher bone disease grade and poor prognosis,which is closely related to the significant increase of bone resorption index β-CTX level and decrease of bone formation index P1NP and OC levels,leading to more serious bone metabolic homeostasis disorder.The results of blood separation combined with the changes of bone metabolic indexes can be used as one of the comprehensive predictors of disease condition,efficacy monitoring and prognosis evaluation of MBD patients.

Objective:To investigate the prognostic value of serum adenosylhomocysteinase (AHCY) in patients with hepatitis E virus acute liver failure (HEV-ALF).Methods:From 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2022, 100 patients each with HEV-ALF and acute hepatitis E (AHE) from the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Zhejiang University and Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were included in this case-control study. The HEV-ALF group was 58.56±11.16 years old, including 71 men. The AHE group was 56.04±14.30 years old, including 61 men. All serum samples were obtained before the patient had an acute onset and were obtained without treatment. Firstly, the serum AHCY levels in patients with HEV-ALF and AHE were analyzed by ELISA. Secondly, the serum AHCY levels in HEV-ALF patients with different organ failure and disease condition were compared. According to the number of organ failure, 100 HEV-ALF patients were divided into organ failure number=2 group ( n=58), number=3 group ( n=24) and number>3 groups ( n=18). According to the disease condition, 100 patients were divided into improvement group ( n=49), disease fluctuation group ( n=37), and deterioration group ( n=14). Thirdly, the survival times between the high serum AHCY level group ( n=50) and the low serum AHCY level group ( n=50) were compared. Finally, the independent risk factors to predict mortality using the multivariate Logistic regression analysis, and evaluated the predictive and decision-making abilities of serum AHCY levels were explored using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results:Serum AHCY levels in HEV-ALF patients were significantly higher than those in AHE patients [326.92 (295.37-385.84) pg/ml vs. 222.88 (188.04-246.78) pg/ml, Z=-12.217, P<0.001]. Serum AHCY levels in group 2 were significantly lower than those in group 3 [303.44 (284.40-330.15) pg/ml vs. 335.36 (306.30-385.84) pg/ml, Z=-3.353, P=0.001]. Serum AHCY level in group 3 were significantly lowerthan those in group>3 [335.36 (306.30-385.84) pg/ml vs. 549.89 (423.35-660.22) pg/ml, P<0.001]. The serum AHCY levels in the fluctuation group were lower than those in the deterioration group [322.17 (283.92-423.74) pg/ml vs. 458.26 (374.66, 593.89) pg/ml, Z=-4.016, P=0.009]. The survival time of high serum AHCY level group was significantly lower than that of low serum AHCY level group [23.11 (20.25-25.96) days vs. 29.49 (28.79-30.20) days, Z=-2.596, P<0.001]. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the levels of serum AHCY and total bilirubin were independent risk factors to predict mortality in HEV-ALF patients [AHCY, OR (95% CI): 1.008 (1.002-1.015), P=0.008; total bilirubin, OR (95% CI): 1.011 (1.005-1.018), P=0.001]. Serum AHCY level predicting the area under the curve (AUC) of 30-day mortality in HEV-ALF patients was 0.912, with a sensitivity of 90.00% and a specificity of 93.75%. DCA results demonstrated that serum AHCY level had good decision-making power for predicting 30-day mortality in HEV-ALF patients. Conclusion:Serum AHCY has an important prognostic value for HEV-ALF patients. Higher serum AHCY levels indicate the worse prognosis of HEV-ALF patients.

The effect of Tujia medicine Berberidis Radix on endogenous metabolites in the serum and feces of mice with ulcerative colitis(UC) induced by dextran sulfate sodium(DSS) was analyzed by metabolomics technology to explore the metabolic pathway and underlying mechanism of Berberidis Radix in the intervention of UC. The UC model was induced in mice by DSS. Body weight, disease activity index(DAI), and colon length were recorded. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-10(IL-10) in colon tissues were determined by ELISA. The levels of endogenous metabolites in the serum and feces were detected by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) were employed to characterize and screen differential metabolites. The potential metabolic pathways were analyzed by MetaboAnalyst 5.0. The results showed that Berberidis Radix could significantly improve the symptoms of UC mice and increase the level of the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10. A total of 56 and 43 differential metabolites were identified in the serum and feces, respectively, belonging to lipids, amino acids, fatty acids, etc. After the intervention by Berberidis Radix, the metabolic disorder gradually recovered. The involved metabolic pathways included biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan, linoleic acid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Berberidis Radix can alleviate the symptoms of mice with DSS-induced UC, and the mechanism may be closely related to the re-gulation of lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and energy metabolism.
Mice ; Animals ; Colitis, Ulcerative/drug therapy* ; Interleukin-10 ; Metabolomics/methods* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

Objective: To explore the application and efficacy of paclitaxel liposome in the treatment of advanced breast cancer among Chinese population in the real world. Methods: The clinical characteristics of patients with advanced breast cancer who received paclitaxel liposome as salvage treatment from January 1, 2016 to August 31, 2019 in 11 hospitals were collected and retrospectively analyzed. The primary outcome was progression free survival (PFS), and the secondary outcome included objective response rate (ORR) and safety. The survival curve was drawn by Kaplan-Meier analysis and the Cox regression model were used for the multivariate analysis. Results: Among 647 patients with advanced breast cancer who received paclitaxel liposome, the first-line treatment accounted for 43.3% (280/647), the second-line treatment accounted for 27.7% (179/647), and the third-line and above treatment accounted for 29.1% (188/647). The median dose of first-line and second-line treatment was 260 mg per cycle, and 240 mg in third line and above treatment. The median period of paclitaxel liposome alone and combined chemotherapy or targeted therapy is 4 cycles and 6 cycles, respectively. In the whole group, 167 patients (25.8%) were treated with paclitaxel liposome combined with capecitabine±trastuzumab (TX±H), 123 patients (19.0%) were treated with paclitaxel liposome alone (T), and 119 patients (18.4%) were treated with paclitaxel liposome combined with platinum ± trastuzumab (TP±H), 108 patients (16.7%) were treated with paclitaxel liposome combined with trastuzumab ± pertuzumab (TH±P). The median PFS of first-line and second-line patients (5.5 and 5.5 months, respectively) were longer than that of patients treated with third line and above (4.9 months, P<0.05); The ORR of the first line, second line, third line and above patients were 46.7%, 36.8% and 28.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that event-free survival (EFS) and the number of treatment lines were independent prognostic factors for PFS. The common adverse events were myelosuppression, gastrointestinal reactions, hand foot syndrome and abnormal liver function. Conclusion: Paclitaxel liposomes is widely used and has promising efficacy in multi-subtype advanced breast cancer.
Humans ; Female ; Breast Neoplasms/chemically induced* ; Paclitaxel/adverse effects* ; Liposomes/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Trastuzumab/therapeutic use* ; Capecitabine/therapeutic use* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects*

Currently,the research or publications related to the clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine are increasing,which attracts the broad attention of all circles. According to the completed clinical evaluation report on Chinese patent medicine,there are still practical problems and technical difficulties such as unclear responsibility of the evaluation organization,unclear evaluation subject,miscellaneous evaluation objects,and incomplete and nonstandard evaluation process. In terms of evaluation standards and specifications,there are different types of specifications or guidelines with different emphases issued by different academic groups or relevant institutions. The professional guideline is required to guide the standardized and efficient clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine and further improve the authority and quality of evaluation. In combination with the characteristics of Chinese patent medicine and the latest research achievement at home and abroad,the detailed specifications were formulated from six aspects including design,theme selection,content and index,outcome,application and appraisal,and quality control. The guideline was developed based on the guideline development requirements of China Assoication of Chinese medicine. After several rounds of expert consensus and public consultation,the current version of the guideline has been developed.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Consensus ; China ; Reference Standards ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

Atherosclerosis(AS) is caused by impaired lipid metabolism, which deposits lipids in the intima, causes vascular fibrosis and calcification, and then leads to stiffening of the vascular wall. Hyperlipidemia(HLP) is one of the key risk factors for AS. Based on the theory of "nutrients return to the heart and fat accumulates in the channels", it is believed that the excess fat returning to the heart in the vessels is the key pathogenic factor of AS. The accumulation of fat in the vessels over time and the blood stasis are the pathological mechanisms leading to the development of HLP and AS, and "turbid phlegm and fat" and "blood stasis" are the pathological products of the progression of HLP into AS. Didang Decoction(DDD) is a potent prescription effective in activating blood circulation, removing blood stasis, resolving turbidity, lowering lipids, and dredging blood vessels, with the functions of dispelling stasis to promote regeneration, which has certain effects in the treatment of atherosclerotic diseases. This study employed high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) to screen the main blood components of DDD, explored the targets and mechanisms of DDD against AS and HLP with network pharmacology, and verified the network pharmacological results by in vitro experiments. A total of 231 blood components of DDD were obtained, including 157 compounds with a composite score >60. There were 903 predicted targets obtained from SwissTargetPrediction and 279 disease targets from GeneCards, OMIM, and DisGeNET, and 79 potential target genes of DDD against AS and HLP were obtained by intersection. Gene Ontology(GO) analysis suggested that DDD presumably exerted regulation through biological processes such as cholesterol metabolism and inflammatory response, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) analysis suggested that signaling pathways included lipid and atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, chemo-carcinogenesis-receptor activation, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathways in diabetic complications. In vitro experiments showed that DDD could reduce free fatty acid-induced lipid accumulation and cholesterol ester content in L02 cells and improve cellular activity, which might be related to the up-regulation of the expression of PPARα, LPL, PPARG, VEGFA, CETP, CYP1A1, and CYP3A4, and the down-regulation of the expression of TNF-α and IL-6. DDD may play a role in preventing and treating AS and HLP by improving lipid metabolism and inflammatory response, and inhibiting apoptosis with multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristics.
Humans ; Hyperlipidemias/drug therapy* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Network Pharmacology ; Nutrients ; Atherosclerosis/prevention & control* ; Lipids ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Molecular Docking Simulation