Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) Schischk (SD; called "fangfeng" in China) has been widely used in the clinical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and has shown well therapeutic effects, but the ...specific mechanisms of action of its bioactive phytochemicals remain unclear.
This study aimed to investigate the molecular biological mechanism of SD in treating RA through a pharmacology-based strategy. The SD-specific core ingredient Prangenidin was screened for further in-depth study.
The bioactive phytochemicals of SD and potential targets for the treatment of RA were screened by network pharmacology, and phytochemicals-related parameters such as pharmacology, and toxicology were evaluated. The protein interaction network was established to screen the core targets, and the correlation between the core targets and RA was further validated by bioinformatics strategy. Finally, molecular docking of core components and corresponding targets was performed. The in vitro experiments were performed to elucidate the regulation of Prangenidin on MH7A cells and on the PI3K/AKT pathway, and the in vivo therapeutic effect of Prangenidin was validated in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice.
A total of 18 bioactive phytochemicals and 66 potential target genes intersecting with the screened RA disease target genes were identified from SD. Finally, core ingredients such as wogonin, beta-sitosterol, 5-O-Methylvisamminol, and prangenidin and core targets such as PTGS2, RELA, and AKT1 were obtained. The underlying mechanism of SD in treating RA might be achieved by regulating pathways such as PI3K/AKT, IL-17 pathway, apoptosis, and multiple biological processes to exert anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Molecular docking confirmed that all core ingredients and key targets had great docking activity. Prangenidin inhibited viability, migration, and invasion, and induced apoptosis in MH7A cells. Prangenidin also reduced the production of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, MMP-1, and MMP-3. Molecular analysis showed that Prangenidin exerts its regulatory effect on MH7A cells by inhibiting PI3K/AKT pathway. Treatment with Prangenidin ameliorated synovial inflammation in the joints of mice with CIA.
Our findings provide insights into the therapeutic effects of SD on RA, successfully predicting the effective ingredients and potential targets, which could suggest a novel theoretical basis for further exploration of its molecular mechanisms. It also revealed that Prangenidin inhibited viability, migration, invasion, cytokine, and MMPs expression, and induced apoptosis in RA FLSs via the PI3K/AKT pathway.
In this study, lily starch was modified by high‐pressure homogenization (HPH), O3, or their combinations and the effects on physicochemical and functional properties, as well as in vitro ...digestibility were investigated. The results showed that HPH did not significantly affect lily starch properties (p > .05), while O3 effectively modified the starch whether it was used separately or combined with HPH. The oxidation damaged the starch surface, increased particle size, and decreased the relative crystallinity, whereas the crystalline structure was still B‐type. The pasting and thermal properties of O3‐HPH‐treated samples were significantly improved, and their solubility and swelling power were significantly higher than those of the native starch (p < .05), especially at 90 °C. Besides, O3‐HPH caused the lowest resistance starch compared with other treatments, which were 63.79% and 35.30% in uncooked and cooked samples. Therefore, O3‐HPH combination treatment could be a potential method for effectively modifying lily starch.
Practical applications
The poor characteristics limited the native lily starch application in the industry. Hence, there is an urgent need to modify the lily starch and improve its properties. This paper presented the potential of combination of HPH and O3 (HPH‐O3 and O3‐HPH) for modifying lily starch. Compared with HPH or O3 alone, combination treatment induced a better pasting and thermal properties of the starch, as well as higher solubility and swelling power at the high temperature, especially for O3‐HPH. In addition, the combination treatments decreased the content of resistance starch and improved the digestibility of lily starch. Therefore, combination of HPH and O3 conferred better functionality on the starch than single treatment, which could broaden the application of lily starch in the industry.
Linear optical sampling (LOS) is one of the most powerful techniques for high-speed signal monitoring. To measure the data-rate of signal under test (SUT) in optical sampling, multi-frequency ...sampling (MFS) was proposed. However, the measurable data-rate range of the existing method based on MFS is limited, which makes it very difficult to measure the data-rate of high-speed signals. To solve the above problem, a range selectable data-rate measurement method based on MFS in LOS is proposed in this paper. Through this method, the measurable data-rate range can be selected to match the data-rate range of SUT and the data-rate of SUT can be measured precisely, independently of the modulation format. What's more, the sampling order can be judged using the discriminant in the proposed method, which is key for plotting eye diagrams with correct time information. We experimentally measure the baud-rates of PDM-QPSK signal from 800 MBaud to 40.8 GBaud in different ranges and judge the sampling orders. The relative error of measured baud-rate is less than 0.17% while the error vector magnitude (EVM) is less than 0.38. Compared with the existing method, under the same sampling cost, our proposed method realizes the selectivity of the measurable data-rate range and the judgment of sampling order, greatly extends the measurable data-rate range of SUT. Hence, the data-rate measurement method with selectable range has great potential for high-speed signal data-rate monitoring.
Purpose
The study aimed to examine the outcomes of posterior approach transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) in the treatment of degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) based on the concept of ...intervertebral correction.
Methods
A retrospective analysis was performed on 76 surgical patients (36 males and 40 females) who underwent posterior TLIF and internal fixation based on the concept of intervertebral correction in Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from February 2014 to March 2021.The operation duration, intraoperative blood loss, incision length, and complications were recorded. Clinical efficacy was evaluated preoperatively and postoperative time points through the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Oswestry disability index (ODI). The changes in the coronal scoliosis curve (Cobb angle), coronal balance distance (CBD), the sagittal vertical axis (SVA), lumbar lordosis (LL), and pelvic tilt angle (PT) were assessed perioperatively at the last follow-up.
Results
All patients successfully underwent the operation. The average operation duration was 243.81 ± 35.35 (220 − 350) min; the average intraoperative blood loss was 836.27 ± 50.28 (700 − 2500) mL; the average incision length was 8.30 ± 2.33 (8 − 15) cm. The total complication rate was 18.42% (14/76). The VAS score of low back pain, lower extremity pain, and ODI score of patients at the last follow-up was significantly improved compared with those before the operation (
P
< 0.05). At the last follow-up, the Cobb Angle, CBD, SVA, and PT of patients were significantly lower than those before the operation (
P
< 0.05), and LL was higher than those before the operation (
P
< 0.05).
Conclusion
TLIF based on the concept of intervertebral correction for the treatment of DLS may provide favourable clinical outcomes.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is an emerging infectious disease first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. As of 19 February 2020, there had been 333 confirmed cases reported in ...Shanghai, China. This study elaborates on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID‐19 based on a descriptive study of the 333 patients infected with COVID‐19 in Shanghai for the purpose of probing into this new disease and providing reference. Among the 333 confirmed cases in Shanghai, 172 (51.7%) were males and 161 (48.3%) were females, with a median age of 50 years. 299 (89.8%) cases presented mild symptoms. 139 (41.7%) and 111 (33.3%) cases were infected in Wuhan and Shanghai, respectively. 148 (44.4%) cases once had contact with confirmed cases before onset, while 103 (30.9%) cases had never contacted confirmed cases but they had a sojourn history in Wuhan. The onset date of the first case in Shanghai was 28 December, with the peak appearing on 27 January. The median incubation period of COVID‐19 was estimated to be 7.2 days. 207 (62.2%) cases had fever symptoms at the onset, whereas 273 (82.0%) cases experienced fever before hospitalization. 56 (18.6%) adults experienced a decrease in white blood cell and 84 (42.9%) had increased C‐reactive protein after onset. Elderly, male and heart disease history were risk factors for severe or critical pneumonia. These findings suggest that most cases experienced fever symptoms and had mild pneumonia. Strengthening the health management of elderly men, especially those with underlying diseases, may help reduce the incidence of severe and critical pneumonia. Time intervals from onset to visit, hospitalization and diagnosis confirmed were all shortened after Shanghai's first‐level public health emergency response. Shanghai's experience proves that COVID‐19 can be controlled well in megacities.
In this study, dual-metal atomic pairs of manganese (Mn)-iron (Fe) binuclear sites (BNSs) with two conjoint MnN
4
and FeN
4
moieties (MnFeN
8
) anchored onto a graphite-like structure (GLS) (Mn-Fe ...BNSs/GLS) were constructed. The binuclear MnFeN
8
structure was verified experimentally and theoretically. Magnetic measurements and Gaussian calculations reveal that this unique Mn-Fe BNSs exhibit strong short-range electronic interaction between Mn and Fe sites, which decouples two paired d electrons in Fe sites, thereby transforming Fe sites from an intermediate to a high spin state. The optimal electronic configuration of Fe sites and their binuclear structure facilitate an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) thermodynamically and dynamically, respectively, endowing Mn-Fe BNSs with improved ORR performance.
Previous studies have demonstrated the antibacterial activity of paeonol against bacterial pathogens, but its anti-biofilm activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes remain ...largely unexplored. Here, the antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of paeonol against S. aureus and L. monocytogenes were examined using the crystal violet staining assay (CVSA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analysis. Paeonol effectively inhibited the growth of S. aureus and L. monocytogenes with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 500 and 125 μg ml
−1
, respectively, and disrupted the integrity of cell membranes. Moreover, sub-MIC paeonol exhibited an inhibitory effect on the attachment of S. aureus and L. monocytogenes to the abiotic surface and biofilm formation. Further, paeonol effectively destroyed cell membranes within biofilms, and dispersed mature biofilms of both strains. The results indicate that paeonol might be a promising antibacterial and anti-biofilm agent for combating infections caused by S. aureus and L. monocytogenes.
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