Mechanistic insights into the ameliorative effects of Xianglianhuazhuo formula on chronic atrophic gastritis through ferroptosis mediated by YY1/miR-320a/TFRC signal pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Xianglianhuazhuo formula (XLHZ) has a potential therapeutic effect on chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). However, the specific molecular mechanism remains unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the effect of XLHZ on CAG in vitro and in vivo and its potential mechanisms. METHODS: A rat model of CAG was established using a composite modeling method, and the pathological changes and ultrastructure of gastric mucosa were observed. YY1/miR-320a/TFRC and ferroptosis-related molecules were detected. An MNNG-induced gastric epithelial cell model was established in vitro to evaluate the inhibitory effect of XLHZ on cell ferroptosis by observing cell proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, and molecules related to ferroptosis. The specific mechanism of action of XLHZ in treating CAG was elucidated by silencing or overexpression of targets. RESULTS: In vivo experiments showed that XLHZ could improve the pathological status and ultrastructure of gastric mucosa and inhibit ferroptosis by regulating the YY1/miR-320a/TFRC signaling pathway. The results in vitro demonstrated that transfection of miR-320a mimics inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while promoting cell apoptosis. MiR-320a targeted TFRC and inhibited ferroptosis. Overexpression of TFRC reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-320a overexpression on cell proliferation. The effect of XLHZ was consistent with that of miR-320a. YY1 targeted miR-320a, and its overexpression promoted ferroptosis. CONCLUSION: XLHZ inhibited ferroptosis by regulating the YY1/miR-320a/TFRC signaling pathway, ultimately impeding the progression of CAG.

Binding of Cd(II) to birnessite and fulvic acid organo-mineral composites and controls on Cd(II) availability.

Manganese oxide minerals (MnOs) are major controls on cadmium (Cd) mobility and fate in the environment. However, MnOs are commonly coated with natural organic matter (OM), and the role of this coating in the retention and availability of harmful metals remains unclear. Herein, organo-mineral composites were synthesized using birnessite (BS) and fulvic acid (FA), during coprecipitation with BS and adsorption to preformed BS with two organic carbon (OC) loadings. The performance and underlying mechanism of Cd(II) adsorption by resulting BS-FA composites were explored. Consequently, FA interactions with BS at environmentally representative (5 wt% OC) increase Cd(II) adsorption capacity by 15.05-37.39% (qm = 156.5-186.9 mg g-1), attributing to the enhanced dispersion of BS particles by coexisting FA led to significant increases in specific surface area (219.1-254.8 m2 g-1). Nevertheless, Cd(II) adsorption was notably inhibited at a high OC level (15 wt%). This might have derived from the supplementation of FA decreased pore diffusion rate and generated Mn(II/III) competition for vacancy sites. The dominant Cd(II) adsorption mechanism was precipitation with minerals (Cd(OH)2), and complexation with Mn-O groups and acid oxygen-containing functional groups of FA. In organic ligand extractions, the exchange Cd content decreased by 5.63-7.93% with low OC coating (5 wt%), but increased to 33.13-38.97% at a high OC level (15 wt%). These findings help better understand the environmental behavior of Cd under the interactions of OM and Mn minerals, and provide a theoretical basis for organo-mineral composite remediation of Cd-contaminated water and soil.

Fabrication of lanthanum/chitosan co-modified bentonite and phosphorus removal mechanism from low-concentration landscape water.

It is essential to solve the problem of phosphorus pollution in urban landscape water and reduce the degree of eutrophication. In this paper, lanthanum-modified bentonite (La-B) was prepared by high-temperature calcination and liquid-phase precipitation. Then La-B was modified with chitosan to prepare a low-cost environment-friendly functional material: lanthanum/chitosan co-modified bentonite (La-BC). It can reach the adsorption equilibrium within 30 min, and the maximum adsorption capacity is 15.5 mg/g (initial phosphate concentration 50 mg/L); when the target concentration is 2 mg/L, the removal rate can reach 98.5%. La-BC has a stronger anti-interference ability to common coexisting anions SO42-, HCO3-, NO3- and Cl- in the urban landscape water body. La-BC has excellent performance in weakly acidic to neutral water, and its pH applicable range has been improved, making it possible to apply in practical water. The fitting results show that the adsorption behavior conforms to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich model. After 5 regenerations, the removal efficiency remained around 80%. In the actual water test results, the phosphate concentration can be controlled below 0.1 mg/L and the removal rate is above 75%. Due to its low cost and reusability, it has great potential in the practical application of phosphate removal from landscape water.

Pharmacological and molecular analysis of the effects of Huangqi Jianzhong decoction on proliferation and apoptosis in GES-1 cells infected with H. pylori.

Background: Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) can cause chronic gastritis and other digestive tract diseases, and represents a public health concern. Current anti-H. pylori treatment can result in antibiotic resistance and other adverse reactions. Huangqi Jianzhong decoction (HQJZD) is a prescription form of traditional Chinese medicine for chronic gastritis that increases probiotics and inhibits H. pylori. In this study, its anti-bacterial activity against H. pylori receives a preliminary evaluation, and a pharmacology analysis is performed to predict its underlying mechanisms. Methods: Human GES-1 cells are divided into a blank control group, a model group, a HQJZD low-dose (2.08 mg·mL-1), a high-dose group (4.16 mg·mL-1), and a positive control group (amoxicillin, 5 µg·mL-1). After culture, the CCK-8 method is used to detect cell viability; flow cytometry is used to detect cell apoptosis rate; and RT-qPCR is used to detect the expression of mRNA virulence factors, including HpPrtC, OPiA, IceA1, and BabA2. Network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking were performed to explore the mechanisms of HQJZD in treating H. pylori gastritis, based on its anti-H. pylori infection effect. Results: We noted lower cell survival rates in the model group, but higher apoptosis rates and mRNA expressions of HpPrtC, OPiA, IceA1, and BabA2 than in the control group (p < 0.05). Compared to the model group, the cell survival rate of each dosage group of Huangqi Jianzhong decoction and the positive control group increased significantly, while the apoptosis rate and the mRNA expressions of HpPrtC, OPiA, IceA1, and BabA2 were decreased significantly. The effect in each HQJZD group was dose-dependent (p < 0.05). Network pharmacological analysis involving 159 signaling pathways was used to screen 6 key active components of HQJZD and 102 potential target proteins for the treatment of H. pylori-related gastritis. The molecular docking results revealed that the 6 active compounds had a strong binding ability with the target proteins of ALB, IL-6, AKT1, IL-1B, and JUN. Conclusion: HQJZD effectively increases the proliferation rate of human GES-1 cells after infection, while reducing the level of apoptosis. The mechanism may be related to multiple components, multiple targets and pathways, which provides a scientific basis for further elucidating the mechanism of action, the pharmacodynamic material basis, and the clinical application of HQJZD against H. pylori infection.

The potential mechanism of huazhuojiedu decoction in the treatment of ulcerative colitis based on network pharmacology and experimental validation.

Huazhuojiedu decoction (HZJDD), a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been clinically proven to be an effective treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the mechanism of HZJDD in the treatment of UC remains unclear. This study combined network pharmacology with experimental validation to explore the potential mechanism of HZJDD on UC. First, the relationship network diagrams between HZJDD and UC were established based on multiple databases. Then, the HZJDD-UC intersection genes target network was constructed and Gene Ontology-Biological processes (GO-BP) analysis was performed to discover the potential pharmacological mechanism. Finally, the results of GO-BP were verified in dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) induced UC rats. The network pharmacology results showed that 119 active components and 146 potential targets were screened for HZJDD, and six of the top 15 biological processes belonged to inflammatory response, cellular response to hypoxia, and cellular response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The GO-BP results indicated that the mechanism of HZJDD treatment of UC was related to inflammation, oxidative stress, and the regulation of LPS. Animal experiments showed that HZJDD could significantly reduce the disease activity index (DAI) score, improve colon length, and effectively repair the histomorphological and micromorphological changes in DSS-induced UC rats. Moreover, HZJDD reduced the expressions of CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, LPS, IL-1ß, and IL-18; downregulated the activity of MDA; and upregulated the activities of CAT, GSH, and SOD in DSS-induced UC rats. Furthermore, HZJDD suppressed the expression of the NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathway at the gene and protein levels to inhibit pyroptosis. Network pharmacology and animal experiments showed that HZJDD exerted a therapeutic effect on DSS-induced UC rats by reducing inflammation, oxidative stress, and restraining the NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathway to inhibit pyroptosis.

The Psychological Recovery of Patients in the Context of Virtual Reality Application by a Complementary Medicine Scheme Based on Visual Art.

Expressive art therapy, which originated from art therapy, uses visual art as a carrier and plays a complementary role in clinical medicine and psychological medicine in the healing process of mentally ill patients. With the rapid development of science and technology, expressive art therapy has also entered the field of technology-oriented virtual reality. This study aims to summarize the clinical psychology research of expressive art therapy based on virtual reality, to review the current state of the field, in order to provide detailed scientific research evidence summary for relevant content and complete knowledge reserve.

Efficient removal of Imidacloprid and nutrients by algae-bacteria biofilm reactor (ABBR) in municipal wastewater: Performance, mechanisms and the importance of illumination.

Neonicotinoids, such as Imidacloprid (IMI), are frequently detected in water and wastewater, posing a threat on both the environment and the health of living things. In this work, a novel algae-bacteria biofilm reactor (ABBR) was constructed to remove IMI and conventional nutrients from municipal wastewater, aiming to explore the removal effect and advantage of ABBR. Results showed that ABBR achieved 74.9% removal of IMI under 80 µmol m-2·s-1 light, higher than photobioreactor (PBR) without biofilm (61.2%) or ABBR under 40 µmol m-2·s-1 light (48.4%) after 16 days of operation. Moreover, it also showed that ABBR allowed a marked improvement on the removal of total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) and soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD). ABBR showed different IMI removal efficiencies and bacterial communities under different light conditions, indicating that light played an important role in driving ABBR. The merits of ABBR are including (i) ABBR showed rapid pollutant removal in a short time, (ii) in ABBR, stable consortiums were formed and chlorophyll content in effluent was very low, (iii) compared with PBR, degradation products in ABBR showed lower biological toxicity. Our study highlights the benefits of ABBR on IMI removing from municipal wastewater and provides an effective and environment-friendly engineering application potential of IMI removal.

Artemisinin Alleviates Intestinal Inflammation and Metabolic Disturbance in Ulcerative Colitis Rats Induced by DSS.

Objective: This study is aimed to reveal the possible mechanisms of artemisinin in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) through bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification in UC model rats. Methods: Firstly, we searched two microarray data of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between UC samples and normal samples. Then, we selected DEGs for gene ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The acute UC model of rats was established by using 3.5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 10 days to verify the core pathway. Finally, we evaluated the therapeutic effect of artemisinin at the molecular level and used metabonomics to study the endogenous metabolites in the rat serum. Results: We screened in the GEO database and selected two eligible microarray datasets, GSE36807 and GSE9452. We performed GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of DEGs and found that these DEGs were mainly enriched in the inflammatory response, immune response, and IL-17 and NF-κB signaling pathways. Finally, we verified the IL-17 signaling pathway and key cytokines, and ELISA and immunohistochemical results showed that artemisinin could downregulate the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1ß and IL-17 in the IL-17 signaling pathway and upregulate the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine PPAR-γ. Metabolomics analysis showed that 33 differential metabolites were identified in the artemisinin group (AG) compared to the model group (MG). Differential metabolites were mainly involved in alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism and synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies. Conclusion: In this study, we found that artemisinin can significantly inhibit the inflammatory response in UC rats and regulate metabolites and related metabolic pathways. This study provides a foundation for further research on the mechanism of artemisinin in the treatment of UC.

Traditional Chinese medicine for precancerous lesions of gastric cancer: A review.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the third leading cause of death due to cancer worldwide. The gastric mucosa often undergoes many years of precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (PLGC) stages before progressing to gastric malignancy. Unfortunately, there are no effective Western drugs for patients with PLGC. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proven effective in treating PLGC. Classical TCM formulas and chemical components isolated from some Chinese herbal medicines have been administered to treat PLGC, and the main advantage is their comprehensive intervention with multiple approaches and multiple targets. In this review, we focus on recent studies using TCM treatment for PLGC, including clinical observations and experimental research, with a focus on targets and mechanisms of drugs. This review provides some ideas and a theoretical basis for applying TCM to treat PLGC and prevent GC.

Glycoursodeoxycholic acid ameliorates diet-induced metabolic disorders with inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Recent studies reveal that bile acid metabolite composition and its metabolism are changed in metabolic disorders, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), yet its role and the mechanism remain largely unknown. In the present study, metabolomic analysis of 163 serum and stool samples of our metabolic disease cohort was performed, and we identified glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA), glycine-conjugated bile acid produced from intestinal bacteria, was decreased in both serum and stool samples from patients with hyperglycemia. RNA-sequencing and quantitative PCR results indicated that GUDCA alleviated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in livers of high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice without alteration of liver metabolism. In vitro, GUDCA reduced palmitic acid induced-ER stress and -apoptosis, as well as stabilized calcium homeostasis. In vivo, GUDCA exerted effects on amelioration of HFD-induced insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. In parallel, ER stress and apoptosis were decreased in GUDCA-treated mice as compared with vehicle-treated mice in liver. These findings demonstrate that reduced GUDCA is an indicator of hyperglycemia. Supplementation of GUDCA could be an option for the treatment of diet-induced metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis, with inhibiting ER stress.

Nutrient transferring from wastewater to desert through artificial cultivation of desert cyanobacteria.

Realizing the reasonable allocation of resources is possible to solve the dual problems of resources and environment. Therefore, in this study desert cyanobacterium Scytonema javanicum was cultivated in artificial synthetic wastewater to explore the feasibility of nutrient transferring from wastewater to desert. After inoculation, S. javanicum grew well in the wastewater; nitrogen and phosphorus were gradually removed from the wastewater. In general, cyanobacterial biomass, exopolysaccharide content, COD, nitrogen and phosphorus contents were all significantly affected by the cultivation time, wastewater dilution treatment and their interaction (P<0.001). Comprehensively considering the producing period, biomass accumulation and nutrient removal efficiency, cultivation time of cyanobacterium S. javanicum in the synthetic wastewater should be controlled around 20days, with wastewater dilution ratio at 1:1. Conclusively, desert cyanobacterium S. javanicum is a promising species for nutrient transferring from wastewater to desert, and its maximum biomass yield could reach 3.91mgChl-aL-1 in the synthetic wastewater.

[Therapeutic effects of the integrated acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine on reflux esophagitis].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the differences in the clinical therapeutic effects on reflux esophagitis among the combined therapy of huazhuo jiedu jiangni decoction (the decoction for resolving the turbid, detoxification and reducing the pathologic upward qi in short) and acupuncture, omeprazole and Chinese herbal medicine. METHODS: Ninety patients were randomized into 3 groups, 4 cases of them were dropped off. Finally, there were 29 cases in the combined therapy group with acupuncture and the decoction, 29 cases in the western medication group and 28 cases in the Chinese herbal medicine group in the statistical analysis. In the combined therapy group with acupuncture and the decoction, the decoction was prescribed recurrence rate. The therapeutic effects are better than the simple application of either Chinese herbal medicine or omeprazole. for oral administration. Additionally, acupuncture was applied to Neiguan (PC 6), Zusanli (ST 36), Zhongwan (CV 12), Ganshu (BL 18), Danshu (BL 19) and Taichong (LR 3). The decoction was applied one dose a day and acupuncture was once a day. In the western medication group, omeprazole capsules, 20 mg were prescribed for oral administration, twice a day. In the Chinese herbal medicine group, the decoction was simply applied. The treatment was 8 weeks in the 3 groups and the follow-up visit was 6 months. The score of reflux disorder questionnaire (RDQ) and the changes in esophageal mucosa under gastroscope were observed before and after treatment; the clinical therapeutic effects and recurrence rate were evaluated in the 3 groups. RESULTS: In 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, RDQ scores in the 3 groups were all reduced as compared with those before treatment (all P<0.05). In 4 weeks of treatment, RDQ score in the combined therapy group with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine was lower than that in the western medication group (P<0.05). In 8 weeks of treatment, RDQ score in the combined therapy group with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine was lower than those in the western medication group and the Chinese herbal medicine group (both P<0.05). In follow-up visit for 6 months, the recurrence rate in the combined therapy group with acupuncture and the decoction was lower than those in the other two groups (both P<0.05). In 8 weeks of treatment, the total effective rate for clinical symptoms and that observed under gastroscope in the combined therapy group with acupuncture and the decoction were all better than those in the western medication group and the Chinese herbal medicine group (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The combined therapy of huazhuo jiedu jiangni decoction and acupuncture achieve the definite therapeutic effects on reflux esophagitis, relieve the symptoms, protect gastric mucosa and reduce the.

Effect of granular activated carbon on the aerobic granulation of sludge and its mechanism.

The granulation of activated sludge and effect of granular activated carbon (GAC) was investigated under the alternative anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The results showed that GAC accelerated the granulation, but had no obvious effect on the bacterial community structure of granules. The whole granulation process could be categorized into three phases, i.e. lag, granulation and granule maturation phase. During lag period GAC provided nuclei for sludge to attach, and thus enhanced the morphological regularization of sludge. During granulation period the granule size increased significantly due to the growth of bacteria in granules. GAC reduced the compression caused by the inter-particle collisions and thus accelerate the granulation. GAC has no negative effect on the performance of SBR, and thus efficient simultaneous removal of COD, nitrogen and phosphorus were obtained during most of the operating time.