Enhancing Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Combined Approach of Methotrexate and Pain-specific Nursing Intervention.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting joint health and patients' overall well-being. While methotrexate (MTX) is a standard therapeutic intervention, enhancing its efficacy with pain-specific nursing remains underexplored. Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of combining MTX with pain-specific nursing on patients with RA, providing valuable insights for clinical practice and offering an improved therapeutic approach to alleviate pain and enhance the overall quality of life for affected individuals. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study, choosing a cohort of 86 RA patients admitted to our hospital from March 2021 to March 2023. After treatment, we compared the number of swollen and painful joints, duration of morning stiffness, and scores on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Self-rating Anxiety Scale/Self-rating Depression Scale (SAS/SDS) between the two groups. Nursing satisfaction was surveyed upon discharge, and patient quality of life was assessed using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results: The research group exhibited a notable decrease in the number of swollen and painful joints, significantly shorter morning stiffness duration, and marked reductions in VAS, PSQI, SAS, and SDS scores compared to the control group (P < .05). Additionally, nursing satisfaction and SF-36 scores were higher in the research group (P < .05). Conclusions: The combination of MTX and pain-specific nursing effectively alleviated pain and improved the quality of life and nursing satisfaction among RA patients.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Tanreqing Targets Both Cell Division and Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus has been recognized as an important human pathogen and poses a serious health threat worldwide. With the advent of antibiotic resistance, such as the increased number of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutical agents. In this study, Chinese traditional medicine Tanreqing (TRQ) has been used as an alternative treating agent against MRSA and we aim to unravel the mode of action of TRQ underlying MRSA inhibition. TRQ treatment affected numerous gene expression as revealed by RNA-seq analysis. Meanwhile, TRQ targeted cell division to inhibit cell growth as shown by illumination microscopy. Besides, we confirmed that TRQ downregulates the expression of virulence factors such as hemolysin and autolysin. Finally, we used a murine model to demonstrate that TRQ efficiently reduces bacterial virulence. Altogether, we have proved TRQ formula to be an effective agent against S. aureus infections.

Discovery of a polysubstituted phenyl containing novel N-phenylpyrazole scaffold as potent ryanodine receptor activator.

To develop the novel ryanodine receptors (RyRs) insecticides, encouraged by our previous research work, a series of novel N-phenylpyrazole derivatives containing a polysubstituted phenyl ring scaffold were designed and synthesized. The bioassays results indicated that some title compounds exhibited excellent insecticidal activity. For oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata), compounds 7f, 7g, 7i and 7o at 0.5 mg L-1 displayed 100% larvicidal activity, and even at 0.1 mg L-1, 7o was 30% larvicidal activity, comparable to chlorantraniliprole (30%) and better than cyantraniliprole (10%). Compounds 7f and 7o had the median lethal concentrations (LC50) of 8.83 × 10-2 and 7.12 × 10-2 mg L-1, respectively, close to chlorantraniliprole (6.79 × 10-2 mg L-1). Additionally, for diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), the larvicidal activity of compounds 7f and 7i were 90% and 70% at 0.01 mg L-1, respectively, better than chlorantraniliprole (50%) and cyantraniliprole (40%). More impressively, the LC50 value of 7f was 4.2 × 10-3 mg L-1, slightly lower than that of chlorantraniliprole (5.0 × 10-3 mg L-1). The molecular docking between compound 7f and RyRs of diamondback moth validated our molecular designation. Furthermore, the calcium imaging experiment explored the influence of compound 7o on the calcium homeostasis in the central neurons of the third larvae of oriental armyworm. The results of this study indicated that 7o is a potent novel lead targeting at RyRs.

Acupuncture for gender differences and similarities in cerebral activity of health volunteers: A pilot fMRI study.

This study aimed to explore the feasible gender differences and similarities in cerebral activity response to the acupuncture at local acupoints around knee.Fifteen male and 15 female healthy adults were recruited and included in this study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was applied to measure cerebral activity response to acupuncture at Liangqiu (ST34), Xuehai (SP-10), Neixiyan (EX-LE4), and Dubi (ST-35).Acupuncture activated the postcentral gyrus, precuneus, temporal, posterior lobe, and occipital lobe in both males and females. When compared with females, males showed brain activation in the right middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, right precuneus, right superior parietal lobule, left cerebellum anterior lobe; and brain deactivation in the right frontal. When compared with males, females were observed brain activation in the right frontal lobe, right parietal lobe, and right middle temporal gyrus; and brain deactivation in the left and right medial frontal gyrus.The results of this study demonstrated that the neural effects of local acupoints around knee might be different between male and female subjects. Further clinical trials should take this gender effect into account in their design of studies.

Sini Decoction Intervention on Atherosclerosis via PPARγ-LXRα-ABCA1 Pathway in Rabbits.

AIM: Sini decoction (SND) is a commonly used herbal formula showing lipid-lowering effects and is applied in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and atherosclerosis (AS). However, the mechanisms behind its anti-atherosclerotic effects are still unknown, and will be investigated in this study. METHODS: AS was induced in rabbits by high fat diet (HFD) and treated with solvent (HFD group), atorvastatin (Ator group), or SND (SND group) for 12 weeks. Healthy rabbits (Chow group) were used as control. Serum and liver homogenates were collected, and lipid profiles as well as serum ApoA-I and ApoB were examined. Histopathological changes and lipid deposition in the proximal aorta and liver were detected by Oil red O staining. Western blot was used to detect the expression of ABCA1, ApoA-I, ApoB, PPARγ, and LXRα in liver, peritoneal macrophages, peripheral mononuclear cells (PMC), and adipose tissues. RESULTS: SND significantly attenuated the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) in serum and liver. However, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) dramatically increased. SND treatment also decreased lipid deposition and improved the structure of the liver and aorta. Furthermore, SND enhanced the expression levels of ABCA1, PPARγ, and LXRα in liver, adipose tissues, PMC, and peritoneal macrophages. It also upregulated hepatic and serum ApoA-I expression and serum ApoA-I/ApoB ratio. CONCLUSIONS:SND treatment relieved AS, improved lipid profiles, and increased serum HDL-C level. The potential mechanism behind this might be the improvement of reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) involved with enhanced expression of ABCA1, ApoA-I, PPARγ, and LXRα.

Immobilized capillary tyrosinase microreactor for inhibitor screening in natural extracts by capillary electrophoresis.

A method for creating an immobilized capillary tyrosinase (TRS) reactor based on a layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly for inhibitor screening is described. Tyrosinase was immobilized on the surface of fused-silica capillary via ionic binding technique with cationic polyelectrolyte hexadimethrine bromide (HDB). Then, HDB solution with the same plug length as the TRS was injected again into the capillary to cover the immobilized enzyme by forming HDB-TRS-HDB sandwich-like structure. Then, the substrate of l-tyrosine was introduced into the capillary and on-line enzyme inhibition study was performed by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The enzyme activity was determined by the quantification of peak area of the product of l-DOPA. Enzyme inhibition can be read out directly from the reduced peak area of the product in comparison with a reference electropherogram obtained in the absence of any inhibitor. The immobilized enzyme could withstand 25 consecutive assays by only losing 12% activity. A known TRS inhibitor, kojic acid was employed as a model compound for the validation of the inhibitor screening method. Finally, screening 19 natural extracts of traditional Chinese drugs was demonstrated. The results indicated that inhibition activity could be straightforwardly identified with the system.

Screening α-glucosidase inhibitors from traditional Chinese drugs by capillary electrophoresis with electrophoretically mediated microanalysis.

In the present study, we report the study by a combination of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method with a partial technique for screening alpha-glucosidase inhibitors from 21 traditional Chinese drugs. In the setup, substrates and enzymes were introduced into the capillary as distinct plugs, the electrophoretic conditions for enzyme reaction and separation of substrates and products were different in the composition and pH of the background electrolyte, which make more enzyme reactions possible. Part of the capillary was filled with the optimal buffer for the enzyme reaction, whereas the rest was filled with the background electrolyte optimal for the separation of substrates and products. With the optimal condition, the Michaelis-Menten constant and the inhibitive mechanism of acarbose were studied, which were in the same range as previous literature data. Furthermore, the inhibitory ratios of enzymatic activity (IRE) of 21 traditional Chinese drugs were determined. The classical method has superiorities over traditional assay methods, which not only minimizes the false-positive results but also simplifies the experimental processes. It could be used for screening inhibitors in natural extract.

On-line concentration by field-enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography for the analysis of coumarins from traditional Chinese medicine and human serum.

In this work, a simple, reproducible and sensitive micellar electrokinetic chromatography method was developed for the separation and determination of three coumarins, imperatorin (IM), isoimperatorin (IO) and osthole (OS) from traditional Chinese medicine and human serum. Field-enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles was used for on-line concentration of the coumarins. The optimum buffer contained 50 mM H(3)PO(4), 160 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, 20% acetonitrile and 15% 2-propanol, and the pH of buffer was 2.0. The sample solution was diluted with water containing 5 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and injected for 15 s with -8 kV after injection of 2 s water plug. The effects of concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate and organic modifier, the sample matrix, the injection time of water plug, the injection voltage and injection time of sample on the separation and stacking efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were well separated and by optimizing the stacking conditions, about 93, 195 and 136 fold improvement in the detection sensitivity was obtained for IM, IO and OS. The contents of three coumarins in Angelica dahurica Benth, Radix Angelicae Pubescentis and Fructus Cnidii were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery. The possibilities of using this method for the determination of three coumarins in spiked human serum were also tested.

Determination of kava lactones and flavonoid glycoside in Scorzonera austriaca by capillary zone electrophoresis.

A capillary zone electrophoretic method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of three active comppounds, 12-hydroxy-desmethoxyyangonin (HD), 12-beta-d-glucopyranoside-desmethoxyyangonin (GD) and luteolin 3'-(6-E-p-coumaroyl-beta-d-glucopyranoside) (LG) in Scorzonera austriaca with UV detection at 254 nm. The applied voltage was 25 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 degrees C. The effect of buffer pH, the concentration of electrolyte and organic modifier on migration were studied systematically. Optimum separation was achieved with 20 mM borate buffer at pH 10.00 containing 10% (v/v) methanol. Daphnetin was used as internal standard for quantification. Regression equations revealed good linear relationship between the ratios of the peak area of each compound and its the ratios of concentration. All the correlation coefficients were higher than 0.9990. The relative standard deviations of migration time and the peak area were <1.46% and 5.13% (inter-day), and <1.65% and 5.16% (intra-day), respectively. The contents of the three compounds in S. austriaca were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery.

Separation and determination of anthraquinones in Cassia obtusifolia (Leguminosae) by micellar electrokinetic capillary electrophoresis.

An MEKC method was developed for the determination of the five pharmaceutically important anthraquinones: chrysophanol (1), physcion (2), emodin (3), aloe-emodinin (4), and rhein (5) in Cassia obtusifolia (Leguminosae). A buffer solution (pH 9.00) composed of 20 mM sodium borate, 20 mM sodium deoxycholate (DOC), and 15% ACN was found to be the most suitable electrolyte for this separation. Regression equations revealed linear relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9993, 0.9992, 0.9996, 0.9989, and 0.9991) between the peak area of each compound (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) and its concentration. The RSDs of migration times and peak areas were <1.23 and 2.72% within 1 day, respectively. The effects of pH value, surfactant (DOC) concentration, and organic modifier on the migration were also studied. By this way, the contents of five anthraquinones in the extracts of the seed of C. obtusifolia (Leguminosae) from different sources were successfully determined within 14 min.

Separation and determination of chalcones from Carthamus tinctorius L. and its medicinal preparation by capillary zone electrophoresis.

A new capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method was developed for simultaneous assay of four chalcones, hydroxysafflor yellow A, safflor yellow A, safflamin C, and safflamin A, in the Chinese herbal extract from Carthamus tinctorius L. The optimum buffer system was 30 mM borate buffer (Na2B407/HCl, pH 9.00) with 10% (v/v) methanol. The voltage was 15 kV and detection was at 270 nm. Regression equations revealed linear relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9973, 0.9992, 0.9989, and 0.9996) between the peak area of each compound and its concentration. The within-day relative standard deviations of migration times and peak areas were < 1.53 and 4.14%, respectively. The effects of several CE parameters on the resolution were studied systematically. The contents of four chalcones in Carthamus tinctorius L. were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery. The possibilities of using this method for the determination of chalcones in Chinese medicinal preparation was also tested.

Effect of complex amino acid imbalance on growth of tumor in tumor-bearing rats.

AIM: To investigate the effect of complex amino acid imbalance on the growth of tumor in tumor-bearing (TB) rats. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats underwent jejunostomy for nutritional support. A suspension of Walker-256 carcinosarcoma cells was subcutaneously inoculated. TB rats were randomly divided into groups A, B, C and D according to the formula of amino acids in enteral nutritional solutions, respectively. TB rats received jejunal feedings supplemented with balanced amino acids (group A), methionine-depleted amino acids (group B), valine-depleted amino acids (group C) and methionine- and valine-depleted complex amino acid imbalance (group D) for 10 days. Tumor volume, inhibitory rates of tumor, cell cycle and life span of TB rats were investigated. RESULTS: The G0/G1 ratio of tumor cells in group D (80.5 +/- 9.0)% was higher than that in groups A, B and C which was 67.0 +/- 5.1%, 78.9 +/- 8.5%, 69.2 +/- 6.2%, respectively (P<0.05). The ratio of S/G2M and PI in group D were lower than those in groups A, B and C. The inhibitory rate of tumor in groups B, C and D was 37.2%, 33.3% and 43.9%, respectively (P<0.05). The life span of TB rats in group D was significantly longer than that in groups B, C, and A. CONCLUSION: Methionine/valine-depleted amino acid imbalance can inhibit tumor growth. Complex amino acids of methionine and valine depleted imbalance have stronger inhibitory effects on tumor growth.