Analysis of Factors Influencing the Duration of Early Enteral Nutrition Support in Patients Diagnosed with Acute Pancreatitis.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the current status of early enteral nutrition (EN) support among patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis (AP) and analyze the factors influencing its duration. The findings aimed to provide guidance for the development of tailored EN support protocols for pancreatitis patients. Methods: A convenience sampling method was employed, and 51 patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis (AP) were enrolled from the Gastroenterology Department of Zhoushan Hospital between May 2020 and June 2021. Data analysis included the categorization of patients based on their early enteral nutrition (EN) support duration, followed by thorough statistical analysis, including logistic regression, to identify the factors impacting EN duration. Results: The mean duration of early EN support among AP patients was (93.57 ± 43.29) hours. A mere 13.73% of patients initiated EN within 48 hours of admission. Upon categorizing patients by the median duration of EN support, multiple logistic regression analysis revealed several significant risk factors influencing the duration of EN in AP patients, including patient age, underlying medical conditions, severity of pancreatitis, nutritional status, and blood lipase levels (P < .05). Conclusion: The study highlights the significant influence of disease severity and patients' functional status on the duration of early EN support in AP cases. It emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive patient assessment by medical professionals to determine the optimal timing for initiating EN support.

Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis extract attenuates memory impairment in rats with Alzheimer's disease by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by degeneration of the central nervous system. Recently, many studies have emphasized the beneficial role of Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis extract (GJ-4) in neuroprotection, which is considered a potential drug for treating AD. However, the mechanism underlying its neuroprotective effects is obscure. This research intended to analyze the effectiveness of GJ-4 to induce neuronal protective role on a rat model of neurotoxicity and probe the potential mechanism. An AD model was established by intraperitoneal injection of aluminum chloride (AlCl3). Then, AlCl3-induced rats were administered 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg of GJ-4 orally. This study indicated that GJ-4 (25 and 50 mg/kg) mitigated AD-like behaviors, as evidenced by enhanced ambulation frequency, rearing frequency, and time spent in the target quadrant and decreased grooming frequency, defecation frequency, and escape latency in AlCl3-challenged rats. Also, GJ-4 at 25 and 50 mg/kg exerted an anti-apoptosis effect in the hippocampus of AlCl3-treated rats. Furthermore, GJ-4 (25 and 50 mg/kg) exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect in the hippocampus by repressing the activation of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, further inhibiting the activation of Caspase 1, ASC, IL-1ß, and IL-18 in AD hippocampus. Altogether, GJ-4 mitigated AlCl3-triggered impairment of learning and memory in AD rats via repressing NLRP3 inflammasome.

Tanreqing Injection Regulates Cell Function of Hypoxia-Induced Human Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells (HPASMCs) through TRPC1/CX3CL1 Signaling Pathway.

Hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (HPAH) is due to hypoxia caused by vascular endothelial cell remolding and damage. Previous studies have suggested that CX3CL1 plays an important role in HPAH which is affected by oxidative stress. Ca2+ channel activation correlated with increasing NF-κB levels induced by ROS. Tanreqing injection (TRQ) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for acute upper respiratory tract infection and acute pneumonia. In the present study, we explored the effect of TRQ on human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs) undergoing hypoxia and feasible molecular mechanisms involved in. Cell proliferation was assayed using CCK8 kits. Immunofluorescence and western blotting along with ELISA assay were performed to investigate the effect of TRQ on hypoxia-induced ROS, Ca2+, hydroxyl free radicals, and the expression of Ca2+ channel protein TRPC1, CX3CR1, HIF-1α, NF-κBp65, and p-NF-κBp65 in HPASMCs. Human CX3CL1 and the inhibitor of TRPC1 as SKF96365 were used for further investigation. TRQ inhibited hypoxia-induced increasing cell adhesion, ROS, Ca2+, hydroxyl free radicals, CX3CR1, HIF-1α, NF-κBp65 activation, and even on TRPC1 expression in HPASMC which tended to be attenuated even reversed by CX3CL1. Our results suggested that TRQ might help to attenuate remodeling of HPASMC through inhibiting the ROS and TRPC1/CX3CL1 signaling pathway.

In Situ Fabrication of Intelligent Photothermal Indocyanine Green-Alginate Hydrogel for Localized Tumor Ablation.

Simplifying synthesis and administration process, improving photothermal agents' accumulation in tumors, and ensuring excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability are keys to promoting the clinical application of photothermal therapy. However, current photothermal agents have great difficulties in meeting the requirements of clinic drugs from synthesis to administration. Herein, we reported the in situ formation of a Ca2+/Mg2+ stimuli-responsive ICG-alginate hydrogel in vivo for localized tumor photothermal therapy. An ICG-alginate hydrogel can form by the simple introduction of Ca2+/Mg2+ into ICG-alginate solution in vitro, and the widely distributed divalent cations in organization in vivo enabled the in situ fabrication of the ICG-alginate hydrogel without the leakage of any agents by simple injection of ICG-alginate solution into the body of mice. The as-prepared ICG-alginate hydrogel not only owns good photothermal therapy efficacy and excellent biocompatibility but also exhibits strong ICG fixation ability, greatly benefiting the high photothermal agents' accumulation and minimizing the potential side effects induced by the diffusion of ICG to surrounding tissues. The in situ-fabricated ICG-alginate hydrogel was applied successfully in highly efficient PTT in vivo without obvious side effects. Besides, the precursor of the hydrogel, ICG and alginate, can be stored in a stable solid form, and only simple mixing and noninvasive injection are needed to achieve PTT in vivo. The proposed in situ gelation strategy using biocompatible components lays down a simple and mild way for the fabrication of high-performance PTT agents with the superiors in the aspects of synthesis, storage, transportation, and clinic administration.

Microwave-assisted ultrafast fabrication of high-performance polypyrrole nanoparticles for photothermal therapy of tumors in vivo.

Photothermal therapy with minimal invasiveness and high selectivity has been regarded as a powerful technique for tumor therapy to overcome the risks of toxic side effects and limited therapeutic efficacy of clinic cancer treatments. Among various photothermal therapeutic agents, polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles show a promising prospect in tumor ablation in vivo due to their admirable biocompatibility and outstanding photothermal performance. Besides, polypyrrole nanoparticles are extensively applied in biosensors, electrochemical sensors, tissue engineering, flexible microelectronics, and so on. However, the available synthesis methods of PPy nanoparticles are all time-consuming and seriously hindered their highly efficient production for diverse applications. Here we present a microwave-assisted strategy for the fabrication of PPy nanoparticles in 2 min, and the required synthesis time is shortened by 120-720 times compared to that in traditional ways. The prepared PPy nanoparticles possess uniform size, favorable aqueous solubility, and enhanced photothermal performance derived from the stronger near-infrared absorbance. Low cytotoxicity and in vivo toxicity of the nanoparticles were confirmed via comprehensive assessments. The PPy nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy in vitro led to a remarkable death of tumor cells, and in vivo tumor ablation using the nanoparticles was achieved under mild laser irradiation with a FDA-approved safe power. The proposed microwave-assisted synthesis strategy opens up a facile and ultrafast way for the construction of organic nanoparticles and facilitates a wide range of applications of them in biomedicine and other fields.

The role of an integrated care model for kidney disease in the development of peritoneal dialysis: a single-center experience in China.

Peritoneal dialysis plays a crucial role in the integrated care of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In this paper, we retrospectively analyzed the quality indicators of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in 712 patients from our center who underwent PD between 2004 and 2011. In 43% of patients, follow-up was undertaken every 3 months at our outpatient department, and 54% patients were followed up by both our hospital and other local hospitals. The patient survival rate at 1, 3 and 5 years was 96.3%, 85.4% and 76.2%, respectively. The technique survival (excludes death/transplantation) at 1, 3 and 5 years was 95.1%, 87.7% and 79.6%, respectively. Fluid overload occurred in 29.2% of patients and was one of the major reasons for discontinuing PD. The peritonitis rate in our center decreased to 0.16 episodes/year in 2011. In addition, since our center is one of the largest integrated-treatment centers for ESRD in China, we have developed a multilevel care program in Zhejiang Province, which resulted in rapid growth of PD in our province in recent years.