ObjectiveTo investigate the possible mechanism by which Zhiqiao Gancao Decoction （枳壳甘草汤， ZGD） delays intervertebral disc degeneration （IDD） based on the Hippo-yes-associated protein （YAP）/transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif （TAZ） signaling pathway. MethodsA total of 50 SD rats were randomly divided into sham surgery group， model group， low-dose ZGD group， high-dose ZGD group， and high-dose ZGD + inhibitor group， with 10 rats in each group. In the sham surgery group， the rats were pierced in the skin and muscle at the Co6/7/8 segments of the tail with a 21G needle （depth approximately 2 mm） without damaging the intervertebral disc. In the other groups， rats were injected with a 21G needle at the Co6/7/8 segments of the tail to establish an IDD model by piercing the tail intervertebral disc 5 mm. One week after modeling， rats in the low-dose and high-dose ZGD groups were given 6.24 and 12.24 g/（kg·d） of the decoction via gastric gavage， respectively. The high-dose ZGD + inhibitor group was given 12.24 g/（kg·d） of the decoction and an intraperitoneal injection of YAP/TAZ inhibitor Verteporfin 10 mg/kg. The sham surgery and model groups were given 5 ml/（kg·d） of normal saline via gavage. The gavage was given once a day， and the intraperitoneal injection was given every other day. After 4 weeks of continuous intervention， the pathological changes of the tail intervertebral discs were observed using HE staining， Oil Red O-Green staining， and Toluidine Blue staining. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of aggrecan and MMP3 in the nucleus pulposus. TUNEL fluorescence staining was performed to detect apoptosis in the nucleus pulposus， and the apoptosis rate was calculated. Western blot was used to detect the Hippo-YAP/TAZ signaling pathway， including YAP， phosphorylated YAP （p-YAP）， phosphorylated MST1/2 （p-MST1/2）， phosphorylated TAZ （p-TAZ） and apoptosis-related proteins， such as Cleaved Caspase 3， P53， Bcl-2 and Bax. ResultsCompared with sham surgery group， the rats in the model group showed significant degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc. The levels of aggrecan， Bcl-2， and YAP proteins in the nucleus pulposus decreased， while the levels of p-MST1/2， p-YAP， p-TAZ， P53， Bax， Cleaved Caspase 3， MMP3 proteins， and the apoptosis rate increased （P < 0.01）. Compared with the model group， the drug intervention groups showed partial recovery in intervertebral disc degeneration. The levels of aggrecan， Bcl-2， and YAP proteins increased， while the levels of p-MST1/2， p-YAP， p-TAZ， P53， Bax， Cleaved Caspase 3， MMP3 proteins， and the apoptosis rate decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The high-dose ZGD group showed more significant recovery in intervertebral disc degeneration compared to the low-dose ZGD group， with a decrease in the levels of p-MST1/2， p-YAP， p-TAZ， P53， Bax， Cleaved Caspase 3， MMP3 proteins， and apoptosis rate， and an increase in the levels of aggrecan， Bcl-2， and YAP proteins （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the high-dose ZGD group， the high-dose ZGD + inhibitor group showed a reduced recovery in intervertebral disc degeneration， with an increase in the levels of p-MST1/2， p-YAP， p-TAZ， P53， Bax， Cleaved Caspase 3， MMP3 proteins， and apoptosis rate， and a decrease in the levels of aggrecan， Bcl-2， and YAP proteins （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionZGD may delay intervertebral disc degeneration by inhibiting the phosphorylation of YAP in the nucleus pulposus， maintaining the function of the Hippo-YAP/TAZ signaling pathway， and reducing apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells.

OBJECTIVE To explore the effect and mechanism of Zhiqiao gancao decoction （ZQGCD） on pathological angiogenesis of degenerative intervertebral disc. METHODS The rats were randomly divided into sham operation group （normal saline）， model group （normal saline）， hypoxia inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α） inhibitor （YC-1） group [2 mg/（kg·d）， tail vein injection]， and ZQGCD low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups [3.06， 6.12， 12.24 g/（kg·d）]， with 8 rats in each group. Except for sham operation group， lumbar disc degeneration model of rat was constructed in all other groups. After modeling， they were given relevant medicine once a day， for consecutive 3 weeks. After the last medication， pathological changes and angiogenesis of the intervertebral disc tissue in rats were observed； the levels of inflammatory factors [interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， IL-6， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）] and the expressions of angiogenesis-related proteins [HIF-1α， vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， VEGF receptor 2 （VEGFR2）， angiotensin 1（Ang 1）， Ang 2] in the com intervertebral disc tissue in rats were all determined. In cell experiment， the primary nucleus pulposus cells were isolated and cultured from rats， and cellular degeneration was induced using 50 ng/mL TNF-α. The cells were divided into blank control group （10% blank control serum）， TNF-α group （10% blank control serum）， YC-1 group （10% blank control serum+0.2 mmol/L YC-1）， and 5%， 10%， 15% drug-containing serum group （5%， 10%， 15% drug-containing serum）. After 24 hours of intervention， the nucleus pulposus cells were co-cultured with HUVEC. The expressions of Collagen Ⅱ， matrix metalloproteinase-3 （MMP-3） in nucleus pulposus cells were detected. HUVEC proliferation， migration and tube forming ability were detected， and the expression levels of the HIF-1α/VEGF/Ang signal axis and angiogenesis- related proteins （add MMP-2， MMP-9） in HUVEC were detected. RESULTS Animal experiments had shown that compared with model group， the positive expression of CD31 in the intervertebral disc tissues of rats in each drug group was down-regulated （P＜ 0.05）， the levels of inflammatory factors and angiogenesis-related proteins were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）， and the pathological changes in the intervertebral disc were alleviated. Cell experiments had shown that compared with TNF-α group， the expression of Collagen Ⅱ in nucleus pulposus cells of all drug groups was significantly up-regulated （P＜0.05）， and the expression of MMP-3 was significantly down-regulated （P＜0.05）； the proliferation， migration and tubulogenesis of HUVEC were significantly weakened （P＜0.05）. The mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-1α， VEGF， Ang 2 as well as the expression of angiogenesis-related proteins （except for the expression of Ang 2 mRNA and HIF-1α， VEGFR2， Ang 2 protein in 5% drug- containing serum group） were significantly down-regulated （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS ZQGCD may inhibit the HIF-1α/VEGF/ Ang signal axis to weaken the angiogenic ability of vascular endothelial cells， improve pathological angiogenesis in the intervertebral disc， and delay the degeneration of the intervertebral disc.

OBJECTIVE To optimize the simmering technology of Rheum palmatum from Menghe Medical School and compare the difference of chemical components before and after processing. METHODS Using appearance score， the contents of gallic acid， 5-hydroxymethylfurfural （5-HMF）， sennoside A+sennoside B， combined anthraquinone and free anthraquinone as indexes， analytic hierarchy process （AHP）-entropy weight method was used to calculate the comprehensive score of evaluation indicators； the orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize the processing technology of simmering R. palmatum with fire temperature， simmering time， paper layer number and paper wrapping time as factors； validation test was conducted. The changes in the contents of five anthraquinones （aloe-emodin， rhein， emodin， chrysophanol， physcion）， five anthraquinone glycosides （barbaloin， rheinoside， rhubarb glycoside， emodin glycoside， and emodin methyl ether glycoside）， two sennosides （sennoside A， sennoside B）， gallic acid and 5-HMF were compared between simmered R. palmatum prepared by optimized technology and R. palmatum. RESULTS The optimal processing conditions of R. palmatum was as follows: each 80 g R. palmatum was wrapped with a layer of wet paper for 0.5 h， simmered on high heat for 20 min and then simmered at 140 ℃， the total simmering time was 2.5 h. The average comprehensive score of 3 validation tests was 94.10 （RSD＜1.0%）. After simmering， the contents of five anthraquinones and two sennosides were decreased significantly， while those of 5 free anthraquinones and gallic acid were increased to different extents； a new component 5-HMF was formed. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully optimizes the simmering technology of R. palmatum. There is a significant difference in the chemical components before and after processing， which can explain that simmering technology slows down the relase of R. palmatum and beneficiate it.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the monitoring of tacrolimus blood concentration in patients with nephrotic syndrome （NS），and to establish a prediction model for tacrolimus blood concentration. METHODS Data from 509 concentration monitoring sessions of 166 NS patients using tacrolimus were collected from January 1， 2020 to August 31， 2023 in Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University. The relationship of efficacy and adverse drug reaction（ADR） with blood concentration was analyzed. A multilayer perceptron （MLP） prediction model was established by using the blood concentration monitoring data of 302 times from 109 NS patients with genetic information， and then verified. RESULTS In terms of efficacy， the median blood concentration of tacrolimus in the non-remission group was 2.20 ng/mL， which was significantly lower than that in the partial remission group （4.00 ng/mL， P＜0.001） and the complete remission group （3.60 ng/mL， P＝0.002）. In terms of ADR， the median blood concentration of tacrolimus in the ADR group was 5.01 ng/mL， which was significantly higher than that in the non-ADR group （3.37 ng/mL） （P＝0.001）. According to the subgroup analysis of the receiver operating characteristic curve， when the blood concentration of tacrolimus was ≥6.65 ng/mL， patients were more likely to develop elevated blood creatinine [area under the curve （AUC） was 0.764， P＜0.001）； when the blood concentration of tacrolimus was ≥6.55 ng/mL， patients were more likely to develop blood glucose （AUC＝0.615， P＝ 0.005）. The established MLP prediction model has a loss function of 0.9， with an average absolute error of 0.279 5 ng/mL between the predicted and measured values. The determination coefficient of the validation scatter plot was 0.984， indicating an excellent predictive performance of the model. CONCLUSION Tacrolimus blood concentration has an impact on both efficacy and ADR in NS patients. The use of the MLP model for predicting blood concentration exhibits high accuracy with minimal error between predicted and measured values. The model can be used as an important tool in clinical individualized medication regimens.

Aim To explore the effect of exogenous hydrogen sulfide ( H2 S ) on hypoxia/reoxygenation ( H/R) injury in glomerular mesangial cells and elucidate its relevant mechanism. Methods H/R induced mouse mesangial cell line ( SV40MES13 ) to establish cell damage model. Cell viability was detected by cell proliferation kit ( CCK8 ), the content of H

Based on the long bud stage phenotype of a new Lonicera japonica Flos variety "Huajin 6", using "Huajin 6" and "Da Mao Hua" as materials, probing the mechanism of its phenotype formation. Detection of endogenous Jasmonic acid hormones (JAs) content; the genes related to jasmonic acid (JA) synthesis were identified by transcriptome analysis of Lonicera japonica; flower buds and flowers of "Huajin 6" and "Da Mao Hua" were collected at different periods, and the qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time PCR) technique was used to analyze the trend of the expression of synthesis-related enzyme genes in Lonicera japonica Flos during the bud stage. The study found that the content of JAs in "Huajin 6" Lonicera japonica Flos was significantly lower than that in "Da Mao Hua"; applying exogenous methyl-jasmonate (MeJA) to "Huajin 6" can restore its flowering phenotype, making it close to wild type Lonicera japonica Flos; there are significant differences in the expression of two allene oxide synthase genes (AOS), three lipoxygenase genes (LOX), and two allene oxide cyclase genes (AOC) in the flowers and buds of "Huajin 6" and "Da Mao Hua" at different periods. It is hypothesized that the low expression of JA synthesis-related enzyme genes in " Huajin 6" leads to the blockage of JA synthesis, which causes the formation of the long bud phenotype. This study laid a certain foundation for the genetic breeding of Lonicera japonica, provided a new idea for the improvement of Lonicera japonica varieties, and provided a reference for the study of JAs in plant flower organs.

Twelve compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the 80% aqueous ethanol extract of the roots and stems of Dalbergia rimosa Roxb. by silica gel, MCI, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified by spectral analysis such as UV, IR, MS, 1D/2D NMR and by comparison with literature information as dalbergiquinol A (1), dalbergiquinol B (2), R-(-)-3′-hydroxy-2,4,5-trimethoxydalbergiquinol (3), neokhriol A (4), mucronulatol (5), (3R)-7,2′,3′-trihydroxy-4′-methoxy-isoflavane (6), isomucronulatol (7), (3S)-violanone (8), 3′-O-methylviolanone (9), eryvarin M (10), (±)-α,3,4,2′,4′-pentahydroxydihydrochalcone (11) and (-)-butin (12). Compound 1 and 2 are new compounds, and compounds 3-12 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12 showed good scavenging effect on DPPH free radical.

Tumor cells use glycolysis to provide material and energy under hypoxic conditions to meet the energy requirements for rapid growth and proliferation， namely the Warburg effect. Even under aerobic conditions， tumor cells mainly rely on glycolysis to provide energy. Therefore， glucose transporter protein 1（GLUT1）， which is involved in the process of glucose metabolism， plays an important role in tumorigenesis， development and drug resistance， and is considered to be one of the important targets in the treatment of malignant tumors. In recent years， research on tumor glucose metabolism has gradually become a hot spot. It has been shown that various factors are involved in the regulation of tumor energy metabolism， among which the role of GLUT1 is the most critical. In this paper， the authors reviewed the latest research progress of GLUT1-targeted traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） active ingredient nano-delivery system in tumor therapy， aiming to reveal the feasibility and effectiveness of this system in the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. The GLUT1-targeted TCM active ingredient nano-delivery system can overcome the bottleneck of the traditional targeting strategy as well as the high-permeability long retention（EPR） effect. In summary， the authors believe that the GLUT1-targeted TCM active ingredient nano-delivery system provides a new strategy for targeted treatment of tumors and has a broad application prospect in tumor prevention and treatment.

Objective:To analyze the clinicopathological features of giant ovarian masses(mean diameter≥10 cm)and analyze the clinical characteristics of patients in different age groups.Methods:The clinicopathological characteristics of 311 patients diagnosed with giant ovarian masses by surgery at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital,Affiliated Hospital of Medical School,Nanjing University from January 2014 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were further stratified by age and mass size to compare the differences of clinical and patho-logical features among different age groups and different mass diameter groups.Results:①The median age of thepatients were 44(24,60)years old.The first symptoms were as follows:ovarian mass discovered during physi-cal examination,abdominal pain,bloating,conscious abdominal distension,and symptoms of compression.②The surgical methods were as follows:unilateral oophorectomy(30.5％,95/311),ovarian cystectomy(28.9％,90/311),tumor staging or cytoreductive surgery(28.0％,87/311),total hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy(12.5％,39/311).③The pathological types were benign(49.5％,154/311),malignant(31.8％,99/311)and borderline(18.7％,58/311).④ Patients complained abdominal distension in＜20 years old group were signifi-cantly higher than the other two groups(P＜0.05).The ovarian resection rate in the＞50-year-old group was higher than that of the other two groups(P＜0.05),and the rate of unilateral ovarian resection in the＜20-year-old group was still as high as 30.1％(15/49).⑤ The size of the mass correlated with the duration of the disease.When the disease course was between 1 to 6 months,the mass diameter line＞30 cm was the most common(P＜0.05).The incidence of borderline tumors in the＞30 cm group was significantly higher than that in the other two groups,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusions:Ovarian mucinous and mucinous borderline tumors are the most common types of giant adnexal masses.The size of the mass tends to increase with the prolongation of the disease course.The incidence of borderline tumors increases with the in-crease of mass.Health education for young people should be strengthened.When abdominal pain,abdominal bloating,especially lower abdominal distension occurs,they should seek medical treatment in time to avoid adnex-ectomy due to borderline tumors.

Objective To screen the specific cytokines of tuberculous pleural effusion(plTB)by using liquid array technique to establish a diagnostic model and discuss its application value.Methods A total of 86 patients with plTB(plTB group)were included,including 41 patients in the confirmed plTB group and 45 patients in the clinically diagnosed plTB group.There were 42 other patients with pleural effusion in the control group.Seventeen cytokines in pleural effusion were analyzed by liquid array technology.Interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-2,IL-4,IL-5,IL-6,IL-8,IL-9,IL-10,gamma-interferon-induced protein 10(IP-10),IL-15,IL-17F,IL-27,tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α,monocyte chemotactic protein-1(MCP-1),the expression levels of macrophage inflammatory protein-3a(MIP-3α),macrophage colony-stimulating factor(M-CSF)and β-interferon(IFN-β)were detected.Difference factors between the confirmed plTB group and the control group were screened,and the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn in the confirmed plTB patients.IP-10,IL-27 and MCP-1 with AUC>0.850 and specificity>80%were combined to diagnose plTB,and were compared with adenylate deaminase(ADA)and T-SPOT.TB in pleural effusion to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy.Results The levels of IL-2,IP-10,IL-27,TNF-α and MCP-1 were higher in the confirmed plTB group than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The sensitivity and specificity of IP-10,IL-27 and MCP-1 in the diagnosis of plTB were 87.8%and 81.0%.The sensitivity of three-factor combined diagnosis in 45 patients with plTB was still as high as 86.7%,and there was no significant difference in sensitivity compared with that in the diagnosed plTB group(P＞0.05).In the plTB group,the sensitivity of IP-10,IL-27 and MCP-1 combined detection was 87.2%,which was higher than that of T-SPOT.TB(81.4%)and ADA(54.7%).Conclusion The application of liquid array technology to the joint detection of pleural effusion IP-10,IL-27 and MCP-1 can provide help for the diagnosis of plTB.