Exploring the efficacy of herbal medicinal products as oral therapy for inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) encompasses a collection of idiopathic diseases characterized by chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Patients diagnosed with IBD often experience necessitate long-term pharmacological interventions. Among the multitude of administration routes available for treating IBD, oral administration has gained significant popularity owing to its convenience and widespread utilization. In recent years, there has been extensive evaluation of the efficacy of orally administered herbal medicinal products and their extracts as a means of treating IBD. Consequently, substantial evidence has emerged, supporting their effectiveness in IBD treatment. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive summary of recent studies evaluating the effects of herbal medicinal products in the treatment of IBD. We delved into the regulatory role of these products in modulating immunity and maintaining the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier. Additionally, we examined their impact on antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory properties, and the modulation of intestinal flora. By exploring these aspects, we aimed to emphasize the significant advantages associated with the use of oral herbal medicinal products in the treatment of IBD. Of particular note, this review introduced the concept of herbal plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PDENs) as the active ingredient in herbal medicinal products for the treatment of IBD. The inclusion of PDENs offers distinct advantages, including enhanced tissue penetration and improved physical and chemical stability. These unique attributes not only demonstrate the potential of PDENs but also pave the way for the modernization of herbal medicinal products in IBD treatment.

Choline and trimethylamine N-oxide supplementation in normal chow diet and western diet promotes the development of atherosclerosis in Apoe -/- mice through different mechanisms.

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-dependent metabolite, has been shown to aggravate cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanisms of TMAO in the setting of cardiovascular disease progress remain unclear. Here, we aim to investigate the effects of TMAO on atherosclerosis (AS) development and the underlying mechanisms. Apoe -/- mice received choline or TMAO supplementation in a normal diet and a western diet for 12 weeks. Choline or TMAO supplementation in both normal diet and western diet significantly promoted plaque progression in Apoe-/- mice. Besides, serum lipids levels and inflammation response in the aortic root were enhanced by choline or TMAO supplementation. In particular, choline or TMAO supplementation in the western diet changed intestinal microbiota composition and bile acid metabolism. Therefore, choline or TMAO supplementation may promote AS by modulating gut microbiota in mice fed with a western diet and by other mechanisms in mice given a normal diet, even choline or TMAO supplementation in a normal diet can promote AS.

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.

Mutations in the Pectin Methyltransferase QUASIMODO2 Influence Cellulose Biosynthesis and Wall Integrity in Arabidopsis.

Pectins are abundant in the cell walls of dicotyledonous plants, but how they interact with other wall polymers and influence wall integrity and cell growth has remained mysterious. Here, we verified that QUASIMODO2 (QUA2) is a pectin methyltransferase and determined that QUA2 is required for normal pectin biosynthesis. To gain further insight into how pectin affects wall assembly and integrity maintenance, we investigated cellulose biosynthesis, cellulose organization, cortical microtubules, and wall integrity signaling in two mutant alleles of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) QUA2, qua2 and tsd2 In both mutants, crystalline cellulose content is reduced, cellulose synthase particles move more slowly, and cellulose organization is aberrant. NMR analysis shows higher mobility of cellulose and matrix polysaccharides in the mutants. Microtubules in mutant hypocotyls have aberrant organization and depolymerize more readily upon treatment with oryzalin or external force. The expression of genes related to wall integrity, wall biosynthesis, and microtubule stability is dysregulated in both mutants. These data provide insights into how homogalacturonan is methylesterified upon its synthesis, the mechanisms by which pectin functionally interacts with cellulose, and how these interactions are translated into intracellular regulation to maintain the structural integrity of the cell wall during plant growth and development.

Synergistic Pectin Degradation and Guard Cell Pressurization Underlie Stomatal Pore Formation.

Stomatal pores are vital for the diffusion of gasses into and out of land plants and are, therefore, gatekeepers for photosynthesis and transpiration. Although much published literature has described the intercellular signaling and transcriptional regulators involved in early stomatal development, little is known about the cellular details of the local separation between sister guard cells that give rise to the stomatal pore or how formation of this pore is achieved. Using three-dimensional (3D) time-lapse imaging, we found that stomatal pore formation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is a highly dynamic process involving pore initiation and enlargement and traverses a set of morphological milestones in 3D. Confocal imaging data revealed an enrichment of exocytic machinery, de-methyl-esterified pectic homogalacturonan (HG), and an HG-degrading enzyme at future pore sites, suggesting that both localized HG deposition and degradation might function in pore formation. By manipulating HG modification via enzymatic, chemical, and genetic perturbations in seedling cotyledons, we found that augmenting HG modification promotes pore formation, whereas preventing HG de-methyl-esterification delays pore initiation and inhibits pore enlargement. Through mechanical modeling and experimentation, we tested whether pore formation is an outcome of sister guard cells being pulled away from each other upon turgor increase. Osmotic treatment to reduce turgor pressure did not prevent pore initiation but did lessen pore enlargement. Together, these data provide evidence that HG delivery and modification, and guard cell pressurization, make functional contributions to stomatal pore initiation and enlargement.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on proprioception in cynomolgus monkeys after unilateral anterior cruciate ligament injury].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of electroacupuncture on proprioception in cynomolgus monkeys after unilateral anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. METHODS: Twenty-seven cynomolgus monkeys were randomized equally into 3 groups, namely unilateral ACL injury with electroacupuncture group, unilateral ACL injury model group and blank control group. One week after modeling, the monkeys in electroacupuncture group were treated daily for 12 weeks with electroacupuncture at the acupoints Wei Yang, Yin Gu, Xi Yangguan and Qu Quan. At 4, 8, and 12 weeks during the treatment, the changes in the somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) of the nerves of the ACL were examined with neural electrophysiological method; the changes in the morphology and the total and variable number of the proprioceptors in the ACL were observed with gold chloride staining. RESULTS; In the mokeys in the model group, the incubation period of the SEPs and MCV on the injured side of the knee were significantly extended and the amplitudes were decreased with the passage of time (P<0.05). Intervention with electroacupuncture significantly reduced the incubation period and increased the amplitudes of the SEPs and MCV (P<0.05). The total number of the proprioceptors in the ACL was significantly decreased and the variable number of the proprioceptors in ACL was increased with time in the monkeys in the model group (P<0.05); electroacupuncture intervention obviously slowed the reduction rate of total number of the proprioceptors (P<0.05) but without affecting the variable number of the proprioceptors (P>0.05). CoONCLUSION: ACL injury causes attenuation of the proprioception on the injury side, and electroacupuncture intervention can produce a positive effect on the proprioception in cynomolgus monkeys.

Syntheses of Benzo[c]Chromen-6-ones by Palladium Catalyzed C-H Bond Activation using Diazonium Salts.

An efficient palladium catalyzed C-H bond activation for the synthesis of benzo[c]chromen-6-ones using diazonium salts is described. In the presence of Pd(OAc)2, dppp, PivOH and K2CO3, the diazonium salt can be transformed into the product through a denitrogenation/C-H bond activation/cyclization sequence in acetonitrile. Altogether, nine structurally diverse substituted benzoLc]chromen-6-ones were prepared in excellent yields through two different methods.

Effect of electroacupuncture on proprioception in cynomolgus monkeys after unilateral anterior cruciate ligament injury / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of electroacupuncture on proprioception in cynomolgus monkeys after unilateral anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-seven cynomolgus monkeys were randomized equally into 3 groups, namely unilateral ACL injury with electroacupuncture group, unilateral ACL injury model group and blank control group. One week after modeling, the monkeys in electroacupuncture group were treated daily for 12 weeks with electroacupuncture at the acupoints Wei Yang, Yin Gu, Xi Yangguan and Qu Quan. At 4, 8, and 12 weeks during the treatment, the changes in the somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) of the nerves of the ACL were examined with neural electrophysiological method; the changes in the morphology and the total and variable number of the proprioceptors in the ACL were observed with gold chloride staining. RESULTS; In the mokeys in the model group, the incubation period of the SEPs and MCV on the injured side of the knee were significantly extended and the amplitudes were decreased with the passage of time (P<0.05). Intervention with electroacupuncture significantly reduced the incubation period and increased the amplitudes of the SEPs and MCV (P<0.05). The total number of the proprioceptors in the ACL was significantly decreased and the variable number of the proprioceptors in ACL was increased with time in the monkeys in the model group (P<0.05); electroacupuncture intervention obviously slowed the reduction rate of total number of the proprioceptors (P<0.05) but without affecting the variable number of the proprioceptors (P>0.05). CoONCLUSION: ACL injury causes attenuation of the proprioception on the injury side, and electroacupuncture intervention can produce a positive effect on the proprioception in cynomolgus monkeys.</p>