UPLC-quadrupole time-of-flight-tandem mass spectrometry combined with chemometrics and network pharmacology to differentiate Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt.

Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. (C. tinctoria) is a traditional medicinal plant, primarily found in plateau areas with altitudes exceeding 3000 m. The efficacy of C. tinctoria appears to be intricately tied to its quality. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on evaluating the quality of C. tinctoria from diverse geographical locations. In this study, we used ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-tandem mass spectrometry to analyze and identify the prevalent chemical components in 12 batches of C. tinctoria sourced from Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, and Yunnan provinces in China. By using cluster analysis and discriminant analysis of partial least squares, we assessed the similarity and identified varying components in the 12 batches of C. tinctoria. Subsequently, their quality was further evaluated. Utilizing network pharmacology, we identified potential active components for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The findings revealed the presence of 16 flavonoids, 3 phenylpropanes, 2 sugars, 2 amino acids, and 7 hydrocarbons in the analyzed samples. Through variable importance screening, 17 constituents were identified as quality difference markers. Marein and flavanomarein emerged as pivotal markers, crucial for distinguishing variations in C. tinctoria. In addition, network pharmacology predicted 187 targets for 9 common active components, including marein and flavanomarein. Simultaneously, 1747 targets related to diabetes mellitus were identified. The drug-component-disease target network comprised 91 nodes and 179 edges, encompassing 1 drug node, 9 component nodes, and 81 target nodes. In summary, marein and flavanomarein stand out as key biomarkers for assessing the quality of C. tinctoria, offering a scientific foundation for the quality evaluation of C. tinctoria Nutt.

Single-cell transcriptomics reveals ferrimagnetic vortex iron oxide nanoring-mediated mild magnetic hyperthermia exerts antitumor effects by alleviating macrophage suppression in breast cancer.

The potential of Ferrimagnetic vortex iron oxide nanoring-mediated mild magnetic hyperthermia (FVIO-MHT) in solid tumor therapy has been demonstrated. However, the impact of FVIO-MHT on the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unclear. This study utilized single-cell transcriptome sequencing to examine the alterations in the TME in response to FVIO-MHT in breast cancer. The results revealed the cellular composition within the tumor microenvironment (TME) was primarily modified due to a decrease in tumor cells and an increased infiltration of myeloid cells. Subsequently, an enhancement in active oxygen (ROS) metabolism was observed, indicating oxidative damage to tumor cells. Interestingly, FVIO-MHT reprogrammed the macrophages' phenotypes, as evidenced by alterations in the transcriptome characteristics associated with both classic and alternative activated phenotypes. And an elevated level of ROS generation and oxidative phosphorylation suggested that activated phagocytosis and inflammation occurred in macrophages. Additionally, cell-cell communication analysis revealed that FVIO-MHT attenuated the suppression between tumor cells and macrophages by inhibiting phagocytic checkpoint and macrophage migration inhibitory factor signaling pathways. Inhibition of B2m, an anti-phagocytosis checkpoint, could promote macrophage-mediated phagocytosis and significantly inhibit tumor growth. These data emphasize FVIO-MHT may promote the antitumor capabilities of macrophages by alleviating the suppression between tumor cells and macrophages.

Distribution, sources, and health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives in the watershed: the case of Yitong River, China.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and substituted PAHs (SPAHs) are persistent organic pollutants prevalent globally, and SPAHs have received widespread attention in recent years due to their stronger toxicity and carcinogenicity compared to PAHs. There is a lack of systematic examination of PAHs and their derivatives in watersheds. Thus, to clarify the current status, possible sources, and potential risks of PAHs and their derivatives in watersheds, a study was conducted on Yitong River in China. The results showed that the concentrations of ∑PAHs, ∑OPAHs, and ∑NPAHs ranged from 297.9-1158.3 ng/L, 281.1-587.2 ng/L, and 65.7-269.1 ng/L, respectively. Diagnostic ratio analysis showed that the PAHs were mainly derived from petroleum sources, agricultural waste, and coal combustion. Nitrated PAHs (NPAHs) were mainly derived from liquid combustion sources, and oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs) were derived mainly from petroleum source emissions and atmospheric deposition. The exposure risk model of PAHs revealed that 86% of the studied sites would pose carcinogenic risks after dermal contact. The contaminant causing a major carcinogenic risk was DahA, and none of the sites produced non-carcinogenic risks. The lifetime carcinogenic risk of NPAHs was 8.85 × 10-10-1.44 × 10-4, and some surface waters presented with potential carcinogenic risks.

Nursing Cooperation Pattern for Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer and Abdominal Pain Undergoing Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Celiac Plexus Neurolysis.

Context: Patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) at a late stage often suffer from severe abdominal pain due to the invasion of celiac plexus, and the analgesics they receive often have intolerable side effects. Endoscopic, ultrasound-guided, celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-guided CPN) can have a good therapeutic effect. Objective: The study intended to evaluate the ability of two nursing cooperation patterns to reduce patients' pain, decrease operation times, increase operational efficiency, and increase nurses' satisfaction, for patients with advanced PC and abdominal pain who received EUS-guided CPN. Design: The research team designed a retrospective controlled study. Setting: The study took place at the Shenzhen People's Hospital of the Second Clinical Medical College of Jinan University in Shenzhen, China, and at the Changhai Hospital of the Second Military Medical University in Shanghai, China. Participants: Participants were 40 patients with advanced PC who received EUS-guided CPN at one of the two hospitals between January 2019 and January 2020. Intervention: Twenty participants at Changhai Hospital received the traditional nursing cooperation pattern and became the control group, and 20 participants at the Shenzhen People's Hospital received the new nursing cooperation pattern and became the intervention group. Outcome Measures: The study measured clinical data, nursing measures, diagnostic significance, and key points for the two patterns as well as compared the effects of the new nursing cooperation method to that of traditional nursing. If the measurement data met the requirements for normality, the team used the two independent sample t-test for the intergroup comparisons. If normality wasn't satisfied, the team used medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs) for expression and the rank sum test for the intergroup comparisons. Counting data were expressed using the constituent ratio, and team used the chi-square test for comparisons between groups. P < .05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The operations were successful, and no complications occurred. No significant difference existed in the pain scores between the control group and the intervention group (P > .05), while a significant difference occurred in the nurses' operation times and satisfaction. Not only were the scores for operation times for the control group (97) and the intervention group (59) significantly different, but also the nurses' satisfaction was significantly higher for the intervention group postintervention, at 83.35 ± 5.25, than for the control group, at 62.25 ± 8.18 (P < .001). Such a new nursing cooperation method could assist in patient's rehabilitation and increase nurses' satisfaction. Conclusions: The new nursing cooperation method for patients with advanced PC and abdominal pain undergoing EUS-guided CPN can reduce operation time and improve nurses' satisfaction.

A strategy for identifying species-specific peptide biomarkers in deer-hide gelatin using untargeted and targeted mass spectrometry approaches.

Deer-hide gelatin (DHG) is an important animal-derived traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which has been applied in TCM for over 400 years. However, it is extremely difficult to distinguish DHG with adulteration or made with other animal skins due to the highly processing procedure. Therefore, a simple strategy for identifying species-specific peptide biomarkers in deer-hide gelatin (DHG) is needed. In the present study, untargeted and targeted mass spectrometry approaches were implemented to analyze comprehensive peptidomic profiles of trypsin-digested animal gelatins. Mathematics set theory was then used to interrogate the relationship between different samples and peptides in the target species set, while the peptides were not considered as species-specific biomarkers in other sets. Two peptides were identified as DHG-specific peptides. Targeted mass spectrometry approach was then used to verify these two peptides. It showed that these two peptides could be used for distinguishing DHG from other animal hide gelatins. The present strategy provides a simple method for peptide biomarker discovery, which can be applied in the identification of specific peptides in some highly processed animal derived traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Thus, the present work provides an effective strategy for rapid, simple discovery and application of species-specific peptide biomarkers to ensure animal derived TCMs quality and make them authenticable and traceable.

[Effect of topiramate and carbamazepine on bone metabolism in children with epilepsy].

OBJECTIVE: To assess bone health in epileptic children who have been treated with topiramate (TPM) or carbamazepine (CBZ). METHODS: Sixty-three epileptic children who received TPM or CBZ treatment and 36 eileptic children who did not receive any drug treatment (control group) were enrolled. Bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar vertebrae (L1-L4) and radius-ulna was evaluated by the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry method. Biochemical indices of bone metabolism, including serum calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase contents were measured. RESULTS: The serum calcium content was higher in the TPM group (2.41+/-0.17 mmol/L), but it was lower in the CBZ group (2.15+/-0.26 mmol/L) than that (2.26+/-0.11 mmol/L) in the control group (p<0.05). The serum phosphorus content in both the TPM (1.55+/-0.17 mmol/L) and the CBZ groups (1.52+/-0.26 mmol/L) was significantly lower than that in the control group (1.70+/-0.30 mmol/L) (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the serum content of alkaline phosphatase between three groups. BMD was significantly reduced in both the TPM and the CBZ groups when compared to the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TPM and CBZ may result in alterations in serum contents of calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase as well as BMD reduction.