Analgesic and anti-arthritic effects of Lingzhi and San Miao San supplementation in a rat model of arthritis induced by Freund's complete adjuvant

Aim of study

In this study, we have investigated the analgesic and anti-arthritic effects of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combination of Lingzhi and San Miao San (SMS) in a rat model of arthritis induced by Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA).

Materials and methods

Sprague–Dawley rats were induced with monoarthritis by single unilateral injection of FCA into the knee joint. The TCM combination was administered to the rats daily by intraperitoneal injection (50 mg/(kg day)) or via oral administration (500 mg/(kg day)) for 7 days before induction of arthritis and 7 days after. Extension angle that provoked struggling behavior, and size and blood flow of the rat knees were measured to give indexes of allodynia, edema, and hyperemia, respectively. The extent of cell infiltration, tissue proliferation, and erosions of joint cartilage provided additional indexes of the arthritis condition.

Results

FCA injection produced significant allodynia, edema, hyperemia, immune cell infiltration, synovial tissue proliferation, and erosions of joint cartilage in the ipsilateral knees compared with the contralateral saline-injected knees. Intraperitoneal injection of the TCM combination (50 mg/(kg day)) suppressed allodynia, edema, and hyperemia in the inflamed knees, and oral administration (500 mg/(kg day)) suppressed edema and hyperemia. Histological examination showed that the TCM administered by either route reduced immune cell infiltration and erosion of joint cartilage.

Conclusions

These findings suggest the Lingzhi and SMS formulation has analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in arthritic rat knees, and concur to previous clinical studies that showed the TCM combination reduced pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients, and extends its possible benefit to suppression of inflammatory symptoms in these patients.     

Localization of porcine seminal plasma (PSP) proteins in the boar reproductive tract and spermatozoa

Spermadhesins are proteins containing a characteristic CUB domain, originally isolated from seminal plasma and ejaculated spermatozoa in domestic animals. Boar spermadhesins are multifunctional proteins exhibiting ligand-binding abilities with various endogenous ligands present in the male and female reproductive tracts and may play a role in the reproduction process. Porcine spermadhesins (AQN, AWN, PSP protein families) are secreted mainly by the seminal vesicles, but their mRNAs have been found also in the cauda epididymis and prostate. Unlike AQN and AWN spermadhesins, localization of porcine seminal plasma (PSP) proteins in the boar reproductive tract has not been completely resolved. This work has focused on PSP protein expression and localization in the boar reproductive organs and on spermatozoa. Using specific rabbit polyclonal antibodies (anti-PSP I and anti-PSP II), PSP I and PSP II proteins were immunodetected in tissue extracts and in secretory tissues of cauda epididymis, prostate, seminal vesicles and Cowper's glands on the blots and by an indirect immunofluorescence technique, respectively. Moreover, the ability of PSP proteins to bind to epididymal spermatozoa indicated their presence on cauda epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa. Porcine seminal plasma proteins bind to the sperm surface at ejaculation and may modulate several aspects of sperm activity during reproduction. PSP proteins are produced not only by seminal vesicles and prostate, but also by epididymis. However, their prospective role in sperm epididymal maturation is not clear. Further characterization of seminal plasma protein forms expressed in the individual reproductive organs will help to understand their subsequent role in the reproduction process.     

Viral infections in pregnancy

Viral infections are a common complication of pregnancy and in some cases, can have profound effects for the unborn fetus. The human herpesvirus family is composed of large, enveloped DNA viruses that have close structural similarity. The family includes the herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2, varicella zoster virus, Epstein Barr virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human herpes viruses types 6, 7 and 8. These viruses all share the ability to establish latency and reactivate at a later time. Structural fetal abnormalities can result from intrauterine infection and transmission of the infection during the pregnancy or at the time of delivery can result in important neonatal disease. Human parvovirus B19 is a DNA virus with strong tropism for erythroid precursors and infection during pregnancy can result in fetal hydrops and stillbirth. The causative agents of hepatitis are hepatotropic viruses termed hepatitis A, B, C, D (deltavirus) and E. All except hepatitis B virus are RNA viruses. Vertical transmission of maternal infection with hepatitis B and C can result in significant long term sequelae.     

基于集成神经网络的类风湿关节炎中医证候分类研究

目的 针对基于AI技术的类风湿关节炎（RA）中医证候多标签分类中存在标签关联性差、泛化性能低等问题,提出构建一种集成神经网络模型来实现RA中医证候分类,并探究其中的特征重要性和风险因素,为RA的诊断和治疗提供参考。方法 本文提出一种集成神经网络模型实现RA中医证候分类。该模型采用一种基于多层神经网络的基分类器提取临床RA多标签样本的深层特征,增强RA特征区分度,根据协方差理论衡量标签相关性,调节分类器链的输入空间,减少RA错误信息传播和冗余度,采用集成学习方法减小分类器链中不合理标签序列对RA特征分类的影响。结果 该模型在10折交叉验证性能参数中表现出优秀的性能,其中汉明损失、1-错误率、准确率和F1值分别为0.0036、0.0248、97.52%、99.18%。与其他常用多标签分类器相比,该模型的性能更为优秀具有更好的分类性能。此外,本文分析了RA中医证候特征重要性,并挖掘了潜在的风险因素。结论 基于集成神经网络模型的RA中医证候分类器具有较高的分类精度和效率,对于RA的临床诊断和治疗具有重要参考价值。     

The microbiome of lung cancer tissue and its association with pathological and clinical parameters

Lung cancer is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Recently, although the microbiome has emerged as the key modulator of the carcinogenesis, it has not been evaluated in lung cancer. Here, we evaluated the microbial composition of lung cancer tissues according to the histologic type and genetic mutation, compared it with that of the adjacent normal lung tissues, and investigated the association between the lung microbiome and clinical parameters. We collected lung tissue samples from 162 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, 162 cancer and 54 adjacent normal tissues), surgically resected between January 2018 and December 2019, and analyzed their microbiome using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, the QIIME2 pipeline, and statistical analyses. NSCLC tissues had significantly lower alpha diversity than the normal tissues, and their microbial composition differed according to the histologic type and cancer genetic mutation. The genera Romboutsia, Novosphingobium, Acinetobacter, and Prevotella were significantly overrepresented in NSCLC tissues. Alpha diversity steadily declined from a normal to a more advanced stage, and microbial compositional differences were noted along with recurrence. Stenotrophomonas was the most predominant genus in the NSCLC tissues of patients with recurrence. The pathways related to the tricarboxylic acid cycle and L-glutamate and L-glutamine biosynthesis were predominant in adenocarcinoma, whereas those related to purine and pyrimidine nucleotide degradation and formaldehyde assimilation were predominant in squamous cell carcinoma. Our findings suggest that the altered lung cancer microbial composition might be associated with cancer initiation and/or progression.     

硫酸氨基葡萄糖脂质体的制备及其对骨关节炎的治疗作用

目的:构建与评价硫酸氨基葡萄糖脂质体(glucosamine sulfate liposome, GAS-Lips),并比较游离硫酸氨基葡萄糖(GAS)和GAS-Lips对前交叉韧带横断术(anterior cruciate ligament transection, ACLT)构建的骨关节炎大鼠的治疗效果。方法:采用薄膜分散法构建GAS-Lips,并对其粒径、形貌、载药量与体内滞留性进行评价。24只SD大鼠随机分为假手术组、ACLT+未给药组、ACLT+GAS组、ACLT+GAS-Lips组。通过关节腔注射生理盐水、GAS与GAS-Lips进行体内药效实验,并观察其对骨关节炎的治疗作用。结果:表征实验结果表明,GAS-Lips平均粒径为(255.02±3.64)nm,形状为类球形。制剂学评价结果表明,包封率为(78.62±1.01)%,载药量为(9.90±0.75)%,并具有良好的缓释作用。体内滞留实验表明,与对照组相比,Cy3-Lips组在关节腔滞留时间明显延长(P<0.01)。体内药效实验表明,与游离GAS相比,GAS-Lips可以更有效缓解关节表面损伤,抑制炎症因子的表达...     

A retrospective study of physiotherapy management for patients with pneumonia requiring invasive ventilation in a single-center Australian ICU

Background:Pneumonia is a frequent diagnosis for patients admitted to Australian intensive care units (ICUs) for invasive ventilation. Physiotherapists in ICU provide interventions to enhance respiratory function and physical recovery.Objective:This retrospective cohort study aimed to describe physiotherapy management of adults with pneumonia who require invasive mechanical ventilation in a single Level 3 ICU in a quaternary teaching hospital.Methods:All adults admitted with a medical diagnosis of pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation over a two-year period were included. Demographic and clinical data, including APACHE II score, ventilator-free days (VFDs) to day 28, ICU length of stay (LOS), and type and frequency of physiotherapy episodes of care delivered in ICU, were collected from electronic medical records. Correlations between VFDs to day 28 and the frequency of physiotherapy interventions delivered per subject were examined using Spearman’s rho analysis.Results:From 208 records screened, 66 subjects with an ICU admission diagnosis of pneumonia, who required invasive mechanical ventilation, were included. Median (IQR) ICU LOS was 10 (5–17) days, and mortality rate was 15.2% (n=10). The cohort had a median of 20.5 (IQR 2–25) VFDs to day 28. Community-acquired pneumonia (66.7%, n=44) was the most frequent type of pneumonia diagnosis. There were 1110 episodes of physiotherapy care, with patients receiving a median of 13.5 (IQR 6.8–21.3) episodes during their ICU stay, with a median rate of 1.2 (IQR 1.0–1.6) episodes per day. Over 96.7% of patients with pneumonia received physiotherapy treatment during their ICU stay. Overall, physiotherapy treatments consisting only of respiratory techniques were most commonly provided (55.1%, n=612). Airway suctioning (92.4%, n=61), patient positioning (72.7%, n=48) or positioning advice to nurses (77.3%, n=51), and hyperinflation techniques (63.6%, n=42) were among the respiratory techniques most delivered.Conclusion:This study described the current intensive care physiotherapy management in a single center for adults with pneumonia who required invasive mechanical ventilation, demonstrating that respiratory physiotherapy interventions are often provided for this ICU patient cohort. Further research is warranted to determine the efficacy of respiratory physiotherapy interventions to justify their use for ICU patients with pneumonia receiving invasive mechanical ventilation.