Effect of Audio-Visual-Based Art and Music Therapy in Reducing Adolescents Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

PURPOSE: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop due to exposure to any event that may result in psychological trauma. This study compared the effect of interactive audio-visual-based art and music therapy in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescents who survived abduction in Nigeria. METHODS: A quasiexperiment was carried out in two selected secondary schools in Northern Nigeria. The study sample comprised 470 students randomly divided into a control group of 235 and an experiment group of 235. The treatment group was further divided into art 118 and music 117 therapy groups, respectively. RESULTS: Results suggest that interactive audio-visual art therapy and music therapy is an effective intervention strategy for reducing the PTSD of school adolescents that have experienced kidnapping in Nigeria. However, art therapy is more effective in reducing PTSD than music therapy. DISCUSSION: We recommend the introduction of audio-visual-based music and art therapy to reduce the PTSD of adolescents that survived kidnapping in Nigeria. More focus should be made on art therapy, which is more effective in curtailing adolescents PTSD.

Acupuncture Combined with Voice Training Improved Voice Function in Patients with Primary Muscular Tension Dysphonia (MTD): A Randomized, Three-Armed, Open-Label Clinical Trial.

Objective: This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with voice training for treating patients with primary muscular tension dysphonia (MTD) (Qi stagnation and blood stasis type in traditional Chinese medicine). Methods: A total of 108 patients with primary MTD (Qi stagnation and blood stasis type) were recruited in this study. The participants were randomly divided into 3 equal groups: a test group and two control groups (control groups 1 and 2). An additional 38 participants without primary MTD were recruited as the healthy group. Control group 1 received acupuncture sessions 3 times per week on alternate days on the Hegu (LI 4), Taichong (LR 3), Open Voice No. 1 point, and Open Voice No. 2 points. Control group 2 received a 40-minute voice training session once weekly. The test group received both treatments. The total treatment course for all groups was 30 days. The healthy participants did not receive any interventions. The physiological and functional voice improvements after treatment were compared between all 3 MTD groups and healthy participants. The Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10), the VHI-10 emotional score, the Chinese Medicine Symptom Score Scale (TCM), and the Grade Roughness Breathiness Asthenia Strain (GRBAS) were used to evaluate the changes in the voice after treatment. A laryngeal muscle blood oxygen monitoring was used to measure the blood oxygen saturation (SO2) of the suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscles, and a stroboscopic laryngoscopy was used to measure the dysphonia severity index (DSI). Acoustic voice analysis was used to measure the maximum phonation time (MPT), the jitter, and the shimmer. Result: The SO2 levels of the laryngeal muscle were significantly higher in the healthy subjects than in pretreatment MTD patients and were correlated with the VHI-10 and DSI scores. A significant improvement in the physiological and functional scores, the total VHI-10, the GRBAS score, the voice acoustic analysis indices, MPT, jitter, shimmer, and DSI, was noted after treatment in all 3 MTD groups (P < 0.05). However, the posttreatment scores in the test group were significantly higher compared to control group 2, whose score were superior than that in control group 1 (P < 0.05). Both the test group and control group 1 showed a significant increase in the SO2 levels of the laryngeal muscles after treatment, where the test group had a higher elevation than control group 1. No significant difference was noted in the posttreatment SO2 of the laryngeal muscles in control group 2 (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture monotherapy or in combination with voice training can reduce the anxiety emotion, relieve MTD-associated systemic symptoms, and increase the SO2 levels of the laryngeal muscle. This combination is a promising approach for the treatment of MTD. This trial is registered with ChiCTR2200061469.

Drug screening and biomarker gene investigation in cancer therapy through the human transcriptional regulatory network.

A complex and vast biological network regulates all biological functions in the human body in a sophisticated manner, and abnormalities in this network can lead to disease and even cancer. The construction of a high-quality human molecular interaction network is possible with the development of experimental techniques that facilitate the interpretation of the mechanisms of drug treatment for cancer. We collected 11 molecular interaction databases based on experimental sources and constructed a human protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and a human transcriptional regulatory network (HTRN). A random walk-based graph embedding method was used to calculate the diffusion profiles of drugs and cancers, and a pipeline was constructed by using five similarity comparison metrics combined with a rank aggregation algorithm, which can be implemented for drug screening and biomarker gene prediction. Taking NSCLC as an example, curcumin was identified as a potentially promising anticancer drug from 5450 natural small molecules, and combined with differentially expressed genes, survival analysis, and topological ranking, we obtained BIRC5 (survivin), which is both a biomarker for NSCLC and a key target for curcumin. Finally, the binding mode of curcumin and survivin was explored using molecular docking. This work has a guiding significance for antitumor drug screening and the identification of tumor markers.

A Review of Aspects of Synaptic Plasticity in Hippocampus via mT Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields.

The subthreshold magnetic modulation technique stimulates cells with mT extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs), which are insufficient to induce neuronal action potentials. Although they cannot directly induce resting neurons to discharge, mT magnetic stimulation can regulate the excitability of the nervous system, which regulates learning and memory by some unknown mechanisms. Herein, we describe the regulation of mT ELF-MFs with different parameters on synaptic plasticity in hippocampal neurons. Additionally, we summarize the latest research on the possible mechanism of the effect of ELF-MFs on synaptic plasticity. Some studies have shown that ELF-MFs are able to inhibit long-term potentiation (LTP) by increasing concentration of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+ ]i ), as well as concentration of reactive oxygen species. The research in this paper has significance for the comprehensive understanding of relevant neurological mechanisms of learning and memory by mT ELF-MFs stimulation. However, more high-quality research is necessary to determine the regulatory mechanism of mT ELF-MFs on synaptic plasticity in order to optimize this technique as a treatment for neurological diseases. © 2023 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in the sediments of Erhai Lake, Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau, China: Their linear relations with nonpoint source pollution discharges from 26 tributaries.

Erhai Lake, a typical plateau deep water lake, experienced long-term nonpoint source (NPS) pollution discharge from 26 tributaries, which significantly affected the abundance and spread of resistance genes. In this study, 25 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), classified into six types, and NPS pollution discharges were investigated throughout around the Erhai basin. FCA (mexF) and sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1, sul2 and sul3) were the most common. Although the absolute overall abundance of ARGs there was low so far, the individual gene like sulfonamide resistance gene was high. Regression analysis using an ordinary least squares model (OLS) showed that the discharge of NPS pollution into Erhai Lake would have an obvious effect on the distribution of ARGs. And the relations between them were linear. Concretely speaking, the total nitrogen (TN) pollution input from tributaries could significantly correlated with the increasing of ARG abundance, while the total phosphorus (TP) pollution input showed the opposite correlation, and ultimately affect the distribution of ARGs. Moreover, the effect of TP on ARG distribution was more significant than TN. This study provides a geographical profile of ARG distribution in a subtropical deep lake on Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau. The results are beneficial for predicting the distribution characteristics of ARGs and controlling their pollution in plateau lakes.

Long-term exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles improves PAOs function in enhanced biological phosphorus removal.

As the most widely applied process for biological phosphorus removal, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) relies on phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs), whose function is crucial for the removal of phosphorus. In this study, the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs, 0-50 mg/L) on EBPR performance was investigated in both long-term reactors and batch experiments. It was found that the performance of biological phosphorus removal was recovered from 0% (day 0) to >99% (day 70) after long-term exposure of ZnO NPs (50 mg/L). Further studies revealed that ZnO NPs treatment caused no significant effects on the morphology and settleability of activated sludge, but enhanced the release and uptake of phosphorus as well as the transformations of polyhydroxyalkanoates and glycogen in activated sludge, which suggested that PAOs were re-activated during long-term exposure to ZnO NPs. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) analysis showed that the relative abundance of PAOs was increased after long-term exposure. Meanwhile, the enzymatic activities of PPX and PPK were also enhanced. These results indicated that compared with short-term exposure, long-term exposure to ZnO NPs favours PAOs function and thus led to the recovery of biological phosphorus removal.

Wenshen Yiqi Keli Mitigates the Proliferation and Migration of Cigarette Smoke Extract-Induced Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells through miR-155/FoxO3a Axis.

Some domestic scholars revealed the effectiveness of Wenshen Yiqi Keli (WSYQKL) on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the exact mechanism of WSYQKL on COPD is fuzzy and needs further research. We adopted UPLC-Q/TOF-MS to analyze the chemical components of WSYQKL. In in vitro experiments, human airway smooth muscle cells (hASMCs) were intervened with 2.5% cigarette smoke extract (CSE), medicine serum of WSYQKL, miR-155 mimic, and FoxO3a silencing. Cell viability, proliferation, migration, and the expressions of miR-155, PCNA, Ki67, p21, p27, and FoxO3a were examined by cell counting kit-8, EdU staining, Transwell assay, scarification assay, qRT-PCR, immunol cytochemistry, and western blot, respectively. The association between miR-155 and FoxO3a was assessed by database and luciferase reporter gene analysis. We identified 47 kinds of chemical compositions of WSYQKL in ESI+ mode and 42 kinds of components of WSYQKL in ESI- mode. The medicine serum of WSYQKL strongly alleviated the proliferation and migration of hASMCs induced by CSE in a concentration-dependent manner. The medicine serum of WSYQKL enhanced the levels of p21, p27, and FoxO3a and weakened PCNA and Ki67 levels in hASMCs induced by CSE with the increase of concentration. MiR-155 mimic or FoxO3a silencing notably advanced CSE-treated HASMC viability, proliferation, migration, and the levels of PCNA and Ki67 and downregulated the levels of p21, p27, and FoxO3a in CSE-triggered hASMCs, which was reversed by WSYQKL-containing serum. Our results described that WSYQKL alleviated the proliferation and migration of hASMCs induced by CSE by modulating the miR-155/FoxO3a axis.

Process Management of Intussusception in Children: A Retrospective Analysis in China.

OBJECTIVES: This was a retrospective analysis of the epidemiological features of pediatric intussusception, the effects of different management strategies and the factors affecting successful reduction. METHODS: Using our hospital database, data on pediatric intussusception from January 2019 to December 2020 were extracted for analysis, including demographic data, size of intussusception, treatment method, and effects. RESULTS: The number of children diagnosed with intussusception was 726 (782 episodes). In all, 394 (54.27%) of these children were male. The male to female ratio was 1.19:1. The peak of the onset age was between 3 and 4 years. In the single intussusception group, the successful reduction rate of cleansing enemas was 65.25%, that of air enemas was 95.80%, and that of B-ultrasound-guided hydrostatic enemas (B-USGHEs) was 96.04%. In the multiple intussusceptions group, the successful reduction rate of cleansing enemas was 43.9%, air enemas were 75%, and B-USGHE was 57.6%. There were no significant differences between the air enema and B-USGHE groups. The diameter and length were related factors influencing successful reduction (P ≤ 0.05). Fifty-three (7.53%) children had recurrent intussusception within 4 years, and all of them were following successful enemas. Thirty-one (3.40%) episodes were found to have spontaneously reduced. Five patients (0.7%) underwent surgery after the failure of air enemas or B-USGHE. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric intussusception in our region showed a sex ratio difference and age difference of onset. For single intussusceptions and multiple intussusceptions, the successful reduction rate of cleansing enemas means that some children may avoid radiation exposure. The diameter and length of intussusception were related factors influencing successful reduction in cleansing enema. There were no significant differences in successful reduction between air enemas and B-USGHE. Most recurrent intussusceptions can still be reduced, avoiding surgery.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus, as a homology of medicine and food, has been widely used in China for thousands of years. However, the existing qualitative and quantitative methods are difficult to evaluate the quality of Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus samples from multiple sources. In this paper, an high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint was established for assessing the quality of Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus from different areas. Then, high-performance liquid chromatography was coupled to Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry for characterization of the chemical compositions in Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus. In fingerprint analysis, 54 common peaks were confirmed and six chromatographic peaks of them were identified. The similarity of 14 samples from different areas was between 0.990 and 1.000. Moreover, a total of 30 chemical components were characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry method, six compounds of which were decisively identified. Finally, the content of nootkatone was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. In conclusion, the methods used in this study are efficient for qualitative and quantitative analysis of Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus. Also, these methods can be used to control the quality of other traditional Chinese medicines.

Molecular Heterogeneity in Localized Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

The clinical and molecular characteristics of localized diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with single nodal (SN) or single extranodal (SE) involvement remain largely elusive in the rituximab era. The clinical data of 181 patients from a retrospective cohort and 108 patients from a phase 3 randomized trial NHL-001 (NCT01852435) were reviewed. Meanwhile, genetic aberrations, gene expression pattern, and tumor immunophenotype profile were revealed by DNA and RNA sequencing of 116 and 53 patients, respectively. SE patients showed similar clinicopathological features as SN patients, except for an increased percentage of low-intermediate risk in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-International Prognostic Index. According to the molecular features, increased MPEG1 mutations were observed in SN patients, while SE patients were associated with upregulation of TGF-ß signaling pathway and downregulation of T-cell receptor signaling pathway. SE patients also presented immunosuppressive status with lower activity of killing of cancer cells and recruiting dendritic cells. Extranodal involvement had no influence on progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) in localized DLBCL. Serum lactate dehydrogenase >3 upper limit of normal was an independent adverse prognostic factor for OS, and ATM mutations were related to inferior PFS. Although the overall prognosis is satisfactory, specific clinical, genetic, and microenvironmental factors should be considered for future personalized treatment in localized DLBCL.

Epidemiology of Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury in Beijing, China: A Descriptive Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is the most common contributing factor towards development of acute kidney injury (AKI), which is strongly associated to poor prognostic outcomes. There are numerous epidemiological studies about sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (S-AKI), however current literature is limited with the majority of studies being conducted only in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The aim of this study was to assess the epidemiology of S-AKI in all hospitalized in-patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective population-based study using a large regional population database in Beijing city from January, 2005 to December, 2017. It included patients with S-AKI. Patients with pre-existing end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), previous history of kidney transplantation, or being pregnant were excluded. Patients' demographic characteristics, incidence, risk factors and outcomes of S-AKI were analyzed. The contrast between different time periods, different levels of hospitals, and types of the hospitals (traditional Chinese medicine hospitals (TCMHs) and western medicine hospitals (WMHs)) was also compared using Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: A total of 19,579 patients were included. The overall incidence of S-AKI in all in-patients was 48.1%. The significant risk factors by multivariate analysis for AKI included: age, male, being treated in a level-II hospital, pre-existing hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD), cirrhosis, atrial fibrillation (AF), ischemic heart disease (IHD), being admitted from emergency room, ICU admission, shock, pneumonia, intra-abdominal infection, bloodstream infection, respiratory insufficiency, acute liver injury, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and metabolic encephalopathy. The overall mortality rate in this cohort was 55%. The multivariate analysis showed that the significant risk factors for mortality included: age, being treated in a level-II hospital and TCMHs, being admitted from emergency room, pre-existing comorbidities (CKD, malignancy, cirrhosis and AF), shock, pneumonia, intra-abdominal infection, bloodstream infection, central nervous system (CNS) infection and respiratory insufficiency. CONCLUSION: AKI is a common complication in patients with sepsis, and its incidence increases over time, especially when ICU admission is required. Exploring interventional strategies to address modifiable risk factors will be important to reduce incidence and mortality of S-AKI.

Danzhi Jiangtang capsule alleviate hyperglycemia and periodontitis via Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in diabetic rat.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate whether Danzhi Jiangtang capsule (, DJC) has treatment effects on diabetic periodontitis and the potential mechanism. METHODS: One week after the induction of diabetes by streptozotocin (STZ), 60 male Wistar rats were ligated by orthodontic ligation thread in cervical portion of bilateral maxillary first molar to induce diabetic periodontitis. Periodontitis was exanimated by tooth tissue morphology after 4 weeks. And then all rats were divided into 5 groups: diabetic periodontitis group (DP, n = 20), periodontal basic treatment group (DP + BT, n = 20), periodontal basic treatment +DJC treatment group (DP + BT + DJC, n = 20) and additional Wnt/ß-catenin inhibitor group (DP + BT + DJC + WIKI4/21H7, n = 20). Eight weeks after different interventions, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), C-peptide and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc) of rats were measured and then all rats were sacrificed. The paraffin sections of periodontal tissue were executed hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and immunohistochemical examination. The mRNA and protein levels of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and Western blot- ting (WB). The protein levels of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling molecules were measured by WB. RESULTS: The blood glucose and C-peptide concentrations in DP, DP + BT and DP + BT + DJC groups were gradually reduced, with gradually decreased distance of CEJ-A and the percentage of periodontal ligament (PDL), as well as gradually increased HbAlc. The number of monocytes and leukocytes in the junctional epithelium and periodontal connective tissue was markedly decreased in DP + BT+ DJC group (P < 0.05), which was slightly reduced in DP+BT group comparing to DP group. The protein levels of Wnt1 and ß-catenin were obviously up-regulated with DJC treatment, while the SOST and DDK1 were markedly down-regulated with DJC treatment. The expression levels of BGP were lowest in DP group and highest in DP + BT + DJC group, while the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), in- terferon-γ (IFN-γ) and metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) were highest in DP group and lowest in DP + BT + DJC group. All these changes could be reversed by Wnt/ß-catenin inhibitor. CONCLUSION: DJC can improve the hyperglycemia and both distal alveolar bone loss and alveolar bone loss in furcation area of diabetic periodontitis rats by reducing the inflammation of gingival tissue and regulating the expressions of BGP, TNF-α, IFN-γ and MMP-3 potentially through Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

The Time-Dependence of Three Different Modes of ELF-EMF Stimulation on LTP at Schaffer Collateral-CA1 Synapses.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is considered the cellular basis of learning and memory. Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) are neuromodulation tools for regulating LTP. However, the temporal effects of short-term ELF-EMF stimulation on LTP are not yet known. In this study, we evaluated the time-dependent effects of 15 Hz/2 mT ELF-EMF stimulation on LTP at the Schaffer collateral-CA1 (SC-CA1) synapses in Sprague-Dawley rats. Hippocampal slices were exposed to three different modes of ELF-EMFs (sinusoidal, single-frequency pulse, and rhythm pulse) and durations (10, 20, 40, and 60 s). The baseline was recorded for 20 min and field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) was recorded for 60 min using multi-electrode arrays (MEA) after plasticity induction using 100 Hz electrical high-frequency stimulation (HFS). Compared to the control group, the LTP decreased under three different magnetic fields and was proportional to time; that is, the longer the time, the greater the inhibition. We also compared the three magnetic fields and showed that the continuous sinusoidal magnetic field had the largest inhibitory rate of LTP, while pulsed and rhythm pulsed magnetic fields were similar. We showed that different modes of ELF-EMF stimulation had a time-dependent effect on LTP at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses, which provides experimental evidence for the treatment of related neurological diseases. © 2021 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Honeysuckle-derived microRNA2911 inhibits tumor growth by targeting TGF-ß1.

BACKGROUND: Honeysuckle is a time-honored herb with anticancer activity in traditional Chinese medicine. Recently, accumulating reports are suggesting that the microRNAs in this medicinal plant not only play a physiological role in their original system, but also can be transmitted to another species as potential therapeutic components. In the numerous bioactive investigations, the anti-tumor effects of these microRNAs in the magical herb are rarely studied, especially the special miR2911, a honeysuckle-encoded atypical microRNA, with high stability during the boiling process and unique biological activity to target TGF-ß1 mRNA. METHODS: Luciferase assay was conducted to test the ability of miR2911 to target TGF-ß1 mRNA. ELISA was performed to determine the expression level of TGF-ß1 of mouse colorectal adenocarcinoma CT26 cells when treated with miR2911 and tumor tissue in Sidt1+/+ and Sidt1-/- mice. qRT-PCR was performed to examine the level of expression of miR2911. Tumor-bearing wild and nude mice were employed to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of honeysuckle and miR2911 in vivo. Tumor tissue necrosis was observed by H&E staining. Besides, the infiltration of T lymphocytes across solid tumors was tested by immunostaining staining. RESULTS: Our results showed that honeysuckle slowed the development of colon cancer down. Further research showed that miR2911 could bind strongly to TGF-ß1 mRNA and down-regulate the expression of TGF-ß1 and had a high stability under boiling and acid condition. Moreover, SIDT1 mediated dietary miR2911 inter-species absorption. And we found that miR2911 had a similar anticancer effect as honeysuckle. Mechanistically, miR2911 reversed the tumor-promoting effect of TGF-ß1 by an increase of T lymphocytes infiltration, resulting in slowing the colon cancer process in immunocompetent mice. Consistent with this inference, the anti-tumor effect of miR2911 was revealed to be abolished in T cell immune deficiency mice. CONCLUSION: Taken together, honeysuckle-derived miR2911 showed an anti-tumor effect in colon cancer through targeting TGF-ß1 mRNA. The down-regulation of TGF-ß1 promoted T lymphocytes infiltration, and accordingly impeded the colon tumor development.

Xuebijing injection in septic rats mitigates kidney injury, reduces cortical microcirculatory disorders, and suppresses activation of local inflammation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Xuebijing injections originate from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription XuefuZhuyu Decoction. It is composed of five Chinese herbal extracts; Carthami flos, Paeoniae radix rubra, Chuanxiong rhizoma, Salviae miltiorrhizae, and Angelicae Sinensis radix. The China Food and Drug Administration approved Xuebijing injections as a TCM preparation for the adjuvant treatment of sepsis. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aims to determine the effects of Xuebijing injections as an adjuvant to antibiotics for the treatment of renal microcirculatory dysfunction and renal inflammation in rats with sepsis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The rats received a sham operation (Sham), sham operation followed by Xuebijign injection (Sxbj), cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), or CLP followed by Xuebijing injection (Cxbj). Renal microvascular perfusion in the cortex and oxygenation were assessed at different times after sepsis induction. Renal levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and high mobility group box (HMGB)-1 were measured. Urinary TIMP-2 × IGFBP-7 and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) were measured as kidney biomarkers, and serum creatinine (SCr) was used to assess kidney injury. Tissue samples were stained for histologic evaluation. RESULTS: The induction of sepsis increased local inflammation and decreased renal microvascular perfusion and oxygenation. Compared with the CLP group, the Cxbj group displayed improvements in microvascular perfusion and oxygenation (p < 0.05). The CLP group had significant increases in renal inflammatory biomarkers (IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, and HMGB-1; p < 0.05) and Xuebijing injection reduced the levels of these markers. The levels of urinary TIMP-2 × IGFBP-7, NAGL, and SCr were lower in the Cxbj group than in the CLP group (p < 0.05), and the CLP group had a higher Paller score than the Cxbj group (p < 0.05). However, the CLP and Cxbj groups had no significant difference in mortality. CONCLUSIONS: This study into the early stages of sepsis in a rat model indicated that as an adjuvant therapy to antibiotics, Xuebijing injection improved renal perfusion and oxygenation, suppressed renal inflammation, and ameliorated kidney dysfunction. However, Xuebijing injection had no impact on mortality.

Semen Cuscutae-Fructus Lycii improves spermatogenic dysfunction by repairing the blood-testis barrier in rats according to in silico and in vitro methods.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Semen Cuscutae and Fructus Lycii (SC-FL) is a commonly used herbal pair for male infertility treatment. Studies have found that the mechanism of SC-FL treatment may be related to repairing the blood-testis barrier (BTB). The application of network pharmacology can be used to explore the correlation between medicines and diseases and predict the potential pharmacological mechanisms of SC-FL. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to explore the specific effects and mechanisms of SC-FL in repairing the BTB and initially revealed the mechanism of Chinese medicine treating male infertility through network pharmacology and animal experiments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched databases using the network pharmacology method and performed mass spectrometry analysis. We analyzed and predicted the active ingredients, targets and key pathways of SC-FL in male infertility treatment. Then, we designed animal experiments to verify the results. Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the normal control group (NC group), spermatogenic dysfunction group (SD group) and SC-FL treatment group (SCFL group). Glucosides of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F (GTW) (40 mg/kg/d) was administered for 4 weeks to generate a spermatogenic dysfunction model. The rats in the SCFL group were given the SC-FL suspension (6 g/kg/d) daily. After 4 weeks of treatment, we detected the sperm quality of each group of rats and observed the cell morphology. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to detect the expression of BTB-related proteins in testicular tissues. RESULTS: 213 chemical ingredients of SC and FL were retrieved from the TCMSP database, and 54 effective chemical ingredients were obtained. Mass spectrometry analysis showed the above results were credible. Then, we identified 44 potential targets for the treatment of male infertility, and we plotted a network diagram of the interaction network between the core targets and a diagram of herbal medicine-active ingredient-target-disease interactions. The target genes were enriched according to biological functions, and 22 biological processes, 49 cellular components, 1487 molecular functions, and 122 signaling pathways were obtained. The results of the animal experiments showed that the sperm concentration and motility of the SCFL group were significantly improved compared with those of the SD group. Compared with those in the SD group, the structure and morphology of the Sertoli cells and seminiferous tubules of rats in the SCFL group improved, and the number of spermatogenic cells increased significantly. Western blotting and qRT-PCR results showed that compared with that in the SD group, the expression of p38 MAPK decreased significantly, and the expression of c-Jun, Occludin, ZO-1 and connexin 43 increased significantly in the SCFL group. CONCLUSION: We predicted that the active ingredients of SC-FL can treat male infertility by interacting with the core targets JUN, IL6, MAPK1, TP53, MYC, CCND1, AR, EGF, FOS, and MAPK8, and the possible mechanism is related to the MAPK signaling pathway. SC-FL can regulate the MAPK pathway and affect the expression of Occludin, ZO-1 and connexin 43 to repair damaged BTB and improve spermatogenic dysfunction induced by GTW, which may be one of the possible mechanisms.

The SUMO E3 ligase SIZ1 partially regulates STOP1 SUMOylation and stability in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The zinc finger transcription factor STOP1 plays a crucial role in aluminum (Al) resistance and low phosphate (Pi) response. Al stress and low Pi availability do not affect STOP1 mRNA expression but are able to induce STOP1 protein accumulation by post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms. We recently reported that STOP1 can be mono-SUMOylated at K40, K212, or K395 sites, and deSUMOylated by the SUMO protease ESD4. SUMOylation of STOP1 is important for the regulation of STOP1 protein function and Al resistance. In the present study, we further characterized the role of the SUMO E3 ligase SIZ1 in STOP1 SUMOylation, Al resistance and low Pi response. We found that mutation of SIZ1 reduced but not eliminated STOP1 SUMOylation, suggesting that SIZ1-dependent and -independent pathways are involved in the regulation of STOP1 SUMOylation. The STOP1 protein levels were decreased in siz1 mutants. Nevertheless, the expression of STOP1-target gene AtALMT1 was increased instead of reduced in siz1 mutants. The mutants showed enhanced Al resistance and low Pi response. Our results suggest that SIZ1 regulates Al resistance and low Pi response likely through the modulation of AtALMT1 expression.

Chinese Medicine Treatment Prolonged Survival in Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Clinical Observation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of Chinese medicine (CM) treatment on survival time and quality of life (QOL) in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). METHODS: This was an exploratory and prospective clinical observation. Patients diagnosed with SCLC receiving CM treatment were included and followed up every 3 months. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS), and the secondary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and QOL. RESULTS: A total of 136 patients including 65 limited-stage SCLC (LS-SCLC) patients and 71 extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC) patients were analyzed. The median OS of ES-SCLC patients was 17.27 months, and the median OS of LS-SCLC was 40.07 months. The survival time was 16.27 months for SCLC patients with brain metastasis, 9.83 months for liver metastasis, 13.43 months for bone metastasis, and 18.13 months for lung metastasis. Advanced age, pleural fluid, liver and brain metastasis were risk factors, while longer CM treatment duration was a protective factor. QOL assessment indicated that after 6 months of CM treatment, scores increased in function domains and decreased in symptom domains. CONCLUSION: CM treatment might help prolong OS of SCLC patients. Moreover, CM treatment brought the trend of symptom amelioration and QOL improvement. These results provide preliminary evidence for applying CM in SCLC multi-disciplinary treatment.

HERB: a high-throughput experiment- and reference-guided database of traditional Chinese medicine.

Pharmacotranscriptomics has become a powerful approach for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of drugs and discovering new drug targets. Recently, studies of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have increasingly turned to high-throughput transcriptomic screens for molecular effects of herbs/ingredients. And numerous studies have examined gene targets for herbs/ingredients, and link herbs/ingredients to various modern diseases. However, there is currently no systematic database organizing these data for TCM. Therefore, we built HERB, a high-throughput experiment- and reference-guided database of TCM, with its Chinese name as BenCaoZuJian. We re-analyzed 6164 gene expression profiles from 1037 high-throughput experiments evaluating TCM herbs/ingredients, and generated connections between TCM herbs/ingredients and 2837 modern drugs by mapping the comprehensive pharmacotranscriptomics dataset in HERB to CMap, the largest such dataset for modern drugs. Moreover, we manually curated 1241 gene targets and 494 modern diseases for 473 herbs/ingredients from 1966 references published recently, and cross-referenced this novel information to databases containing such data for drugs. Together with database mining and statistical inference, we linked 12 933 targets and 28 212 diseases to 7263 herbs and 49 258 ingredients and provided six pairwise relationships among them in HERB. In summary, HERB will intensively support the modernization of TCM and guide rational modern drug discovery efforts. And it is accessible through http://herb.ac.cn/.

The protective effect of L-glutamine against acute Cantharidin-induced Cardiotoxicity in the mice.

BACKGROUND: Cantharidin (CTD) is a compound which have the potential to be exploited as an antitumor drug, and it has been demonstrated antitumor effects in a variety of cancers. However, the use is limited due to its severe toxicity. It has reported that it can induce fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Fortunately, we found that L-glutamine can alleviate cardiac toxicity caused by cantharidin in mice. METHODS: To investigate the protective effect of L-glutamine, we used a high dose of cantharidin in mice to create a model of cardiotoxicity. In the experimental mice, glutamine was given orally half an hour before they were administrated with cantharidin. The mice of control group were intraperitoneally injected with DMSO solution. The general state of all mice, cardiac mass index, electrocardiogram change and biological markers were determined. Hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE staining) of heart tissue was carried out in each group to reflect the protective effect of glutamine. To investigate the mechanisms underlying the injury and cardio-protection, multiple oxidative stress indexes were determined and succinate dehydrogenase activity was evaluated. RESULT: The results showed that L-glutamine (Gln) pretreatment reduced weight loss and mortality. It also decreased the biological markers (p < 0.05), improved electrocardiogram and histological changes that CTD induced cardiotoxicity in mice. Subsequently, the group pretreated with L-glutamine before CTD treatment increases in MDA but decreases in SOD and GSH, in comparison to the group treated with CTD alone. Besides, succinate dehydrogenase activity also was improved when L-glutamine was administrated before cantharidin compared to cantharidin. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided evidence that L-glutamine could protect cardiac cells against the acute cantharidin-induced cardiotoxicity and the protective mechanism of glutamine may be related to the myocardial cell membrane or the tricarboxylic acid cycle in the mitochondria.