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Abstract Background Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prominent clinical problem. There are calls for multi-modal interventions. Methods We assessed the feasibility of delivering patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of CRF in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with breast cancer survivors using usual care as control. Social cognitive and integrative medicine theories guided integration of patient education with acupuncture into a coherent treatment protocol. The intervention consisted of two parts. First, patients were taught to improve self-care by optimizing exercise routines, improving nutrition, implementing some additional evidence-based cognitive behavioral techniques such as stress management in four weekly 50-minute sessions. Second, patients received eight weekly 50-minute acupuncture sessions. The pre-specified primary outcome, CRF, was assessed with the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI). Secondary outcomes included three dimensions of cognitive impairment assessed with the FACT-COGv2. Results Due to difficulties in recruitment, we tried several methods that led to the development of a tailored recruitment strategy: we enlisted oncologists into the core research team and recruited patients completing treatment from oncology waiting rooms. Compared to usual care control, the intervention was associated with a 2.38-point decline in fatigue as measured by the BFI (90% Confidence Interval from 0.586 to 5.014; p

Abstract Background Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), the third gasotransmitter discovered, regulates a variety of physiological functions. Whether H2S alleviates skeletal muscle ageing by regulating autophagy has not been reported. Methods Mice were administered 150 mg/kg/day of D‐galactose (D‐gal), and C2C12 myotubes were cultured in 20 g/L D‐gal to induce ageing. Sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) was employed as an exogenous donor in the treatment group. The intracellular concentration of H2S was quantified by the 7‐azido‐4‐methylcoumarin fluorescence probe. The proteins involved in the ubiquitin‐mediated degradation of AMPKα1 were detected by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and co‐immunoprecipitation (Co‐IP). S‐sulfhydration of USP5 was tested by a biotin‐switch assay. Associated proteins were analysed by western blot. Results NaHS was found to effectively restore the H2S content in both ageing gastrocnemius (+91.89%, P

Citrus fruits possess a distinctive aroma and flavor, with Citrus aurantium Changshan-huyou (CACH) standing out due to their considerable edible and medicinal value. However, the volatile components (VOCs) in the CACH pericarp (CP) remain underexplored. In this study, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was utilized to qualitatively analyze VOCs in 27 CP samples across different growth stages. A total of 544 VOCs were identified, including 91 terpenoids. The types, quantities and distributions of VOCs were conducted. Detailed discussions on the major terpenoids in CP were also presented. A metabolomics approach combining multivariate statistical analysis with univariate analysis was employed for screening the differential metabolites. The study provides comprehensive insights into the VOCs in CP and citrus plants. Moreover, it delivers the first in-depth analysis of differential metabolites in CP throughout the entire CACH growth and development process, laying a foundation for ongoing research and development of the VOCs in CP.

To analyze the complex spatiotemporal evolution law of the high-speed jet flow field in a liquid-ring pump ejector, both the classic and spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD) methods were introduced to decompose the transient flow field based on the numerical large eddy simulation. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) reduced order model (ROM) of the complex flow in the ejector was established to analyze the transient characteristics and reconstruct the flow field. The spatial mode characteristics of density, pressure and vorticity field, and the frequency domain characteristics of mode coefficients were analyzed. The results show that the spatiotemporal decoupling analysis of a high-speed jet flow field can be accomplished by the POD and SPOD methods. A large-scale symmetric coherent structure is formed in the shear layer of the first two modes of vorticity, and a small-scale antisymmetric structure is formed at the trailing edge of the jet flow for the third and fourth modes. This reflects the evolutionary characteristics of the jet shear vortex. There is a significant spatial correlation between the density and pressure modes, reflecting that the evolution of the two structures has important correlation characteristics. The spectral analysis of the mode coefficients shows that the dominant frequencies of 1250 Hz and 18 kHz correspond to the self-excited oscillation frequency of shock waves and the vortex shedding frequency. The POD-ROM can reconstruct the high-speed flow field of the ejector with enough accuracy using the first 30-order modes, and the root mean square error and mean absolute percentage error for the velocity prediction are 0.48% and 0.24%, respectively.

Cefquinome, the fourth-generation cephalosporin applied solely for veterinary medicine, is commonly used for bovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The present study aims to establish an optimal dose and provide a PK/PD Cutoff value (COPD) for cefquinome against S. aureus based on ex vivo pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) integration. This study investigated the pharmacokinetics (PK) of cefquinome when administered as three consecutive intramammary (IMM) doses of cefquinome in three healthy dairy cows at 75 mg/gland. Drug concentration was determined by HPLC-MS/MS assay. The ex vivo pharmacodynamics (PD) of cefquinome were evaluated by using a milk sample from a PK experiment. The relationship between the AUC/ MIC of cefquinome and bacterial loading reduction was simulated using a Sigmoid Emax model. The cefquinome concentration in milk attained a maximum level of 1.55 ± 0.21 mg/mL at 1.8 h after the third administration. The mean value of the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0−24) was 26.12 ± 2.42 mg·h/mL after the third administration. The elimination half-life was 10.6 h. For PD profile, the MICs of cefquinome in milk were 2–4 times higher than those in the broth. In vitro time-killing curve shows that initial bacterial concentration has a huge impact on antibacterial effect on three strains. The antibacterial effect was weakened with the initial bacterial concentration increasing from 106 to 108 CFU/mL. The AUC0−24h/MIC index correlated well with ex vivo efficacy both for the initial inoculum of 106 CFU/mL and 108 CFU/mL (R2 > 0.84). According to the inhibitory sigmoid Emax model analysis, the PK/PD surrogate (AUC0−24/MIC) values were 8,638, 1,397, and 3,851 for bactericidal effect (E = −3) with an initial inoculum of 106 CFU/mL, while the corresponding values were 12,266, 2,295, and 5,337, respectively, with the initial inoculum of 108 CFU/mL. The ex vivo PK/PD based population dose prediction indicated a target attainment rate (TAR) of 90% of 55 mg/gland/12 h. The COPD for cefquinome against S. aureus was 2 μg/mL under the recommended dose of 55 mg/gland/12 h. However, it should be validated in clinical practice in future investigations. These results contribute to the rational use of cefquinome for mastitis treatment in clinical veterinary medicine.

Volatile general anesthetics continue to be an important part of clinical anesthesia worldwide. The impact of volatile anesthetics on the immune system has been investigated at both mechanistic and clinical levels, but previous studies have returned conflicting findings due to varied protocols, experimental environments, and subject species. While many of these studies have focused on the immunosuppressive effects of volatile anesthetics, compelling evidence also exists for immunoactivation. Depending on the clinical conditions, immunosuppression and activation due to volatile anesthetics can be either detrimental or beneficial. This review provides a balanced perspective on the anesthetic modulation of innate and adaptive immune responses as well as indirect effectors of immunity. Potential mechanisms of immunomodulation by volatile anesthetics are also discussed. A clearer understanding of these issues will pave the way for clinical guidelines that better account for the impact of volatile anesthetics on the immune system, with the ultimate goal of improving perioperative management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Interleukin(IL)-25, IL-33, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) underlie the crosstalk between epithelial cells and dendritic cells (DCs) during the development of Th2 responses. This study aimed to measure the expressions of IL-17RB, ST2 and TSLPR, receptor of IL-25, IL-33, and TSLP respectively, on myeloid DCs in nasal polyps (NP) and evaluate their association with local Th2 inflammation and disease severity in patients with NP. Methods Samples were collected from 30 NP patients and 16 control subjects recruited prospectively. The mRNA expression of cytokines, including TSLP, IL-25 and IL-33, as well as interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and IL-17A in NP and control tissues was examined by qualitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The expression of IL-17RB, ST2 and TSLPR as well as other surface markers on myeloid DCs (mDCs) was examined by flow cytometry. Results Increased numbers of total and activated mDCs were found in NP patients. mDCs demonstrated significantly higher expression of IL-17RB, ST2 and TSLPR than those in control tissues. The activated mDCs exhibited up-regulations of OX40L and ICOSL, but down-regulation of PDL1 in NP. Moreover, the IL-17RB, ST2 and TSLPR levels on mDCs were positively correlated with IL-25, IL-33 and TSLP mRNA levels, respectively, in NP. Furthermore, IL-17RB and ST2 expressions on mDCs were correlated with the IL-5 mRNA level as well as eosinophil number in NP. Importantly, the IL-17RB expression on mDCs and the OX40L expression on activated mDCs in NP were positively correlated with CT score and total nasal symptom score. Conclusions Increased expressions of IL-17RB and ST2 on mDCs are associated with enhanced local Th2 inflammation in NP, suggesting that mDCs might play a role in IL-25- and IL-33-induced type 2 responses and eosinophilic inflammation in NP.

Erxian Tang (..., Exr) is a Chinese herbal formula developed for the treatment of menopausal syndrome in women, in the past 50 years, EXT has shown positive efficacy in the treatment of many chronic diseases in TCM, involving syndrome types of Shen (...) yin-yang deficiency, yin-deficiency caused yang-flourishing, and disharmony of Chong-Ren meridian. Experimental studies have revealed that EXT has multiple pharmacological actions on such multiple targets as hypothalamus-pituitary-target gland axis, immune function and free radical metabolism, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella typhimurium is a highly transmissible pathogen in rabbits that causes significant losses. Danofloxacin shows excellent efficacy against S. typhimurium infections. However, there are few reports of the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modeling of danofloxacin against this pathogen. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo PK/PD relationship of danofloxacin in rabbits infected with S. typhimurium. We used the reduction of bacterial burden in the blood, liver, spleen, and lung as the target PD endpoints, and determined the PK/PD indexes that best correlated with the efficacy and its corresponding magnitude. Danofloxacin was administrated orally to experimentally S. typhimurium-infected rabbits once daily for three successive days. The concentrations of danofloxacin in the serum and the bacterial burden in the blood, liver, spleen, and lung were determined. The PK/PD relationships of danofloxacin against S. typhimurium were evaluated using a Sigmoid Emax model. The results showed that the area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h/minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC24 h/MIC) ratio correlated well with the in vivo antibacterial effectiveness in different organs, with an r2 of 0.8971, 0.9186, 0.9581, and 0.8708 in the blood, liver, spleen, and lung, respectively. The AUC24 h/MIC ratios for the bactericidal effect (3 × Log10 colony forming units/mL reductions) were 121.30, 354.28, 216.64, and 228.66 in the blood, liver, spleen, and lung, respectively, indicating that the in vivo effectiveness of danofloxacin against S. typhimurium using bacterial reduction in different organs as PD endpoints was not identical. This study illustrated that the selection of the target organ for bacterial reduction determination had little effect on best PK/PD parameter determination, but is critical for parameter magnitude calculation in antimicrobial PK/PD modeling, and furthermore, has an impact on the rational dosage optimization process.

Background: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been the leading cause of death for several decades globally, IHD patients usually hold the symptoms of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome (PSCS) as significant complications. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of PSCS complicated with IHD have not yet been fully elucidated.Materials and Methods: Network medicine methods were utilized to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of IHD phenotypes. Firstly, high-quality IHD-associated genes from both human curated disease-gene association database and biomedical literatures were integrated. Secondly, the IHD disease modules were obtained by dissecting the protein-protein interaction (PPI) topological modules in the String V9.1 database and the mapping of IHD-associated genes to the PPI topological modules. After that, molecular functional analyses (e.g., Gene Ontology and pathway enrichment analyses) for these IHD disease modules were conducted. Finally, the PSCS syndrome modules were identified by mapping the PSCS related symptom-genes to the IHD disease modules, which were further validated by both pharmacological and physiological evidences derived from published literatures.Results: The total of 1,056 high-quality IHD-associated genes were integrated and evaluated. In addition, eight IHD disease modules (the PPI sub-networks significantly relevant to IHD) were identified, in which two disease modules were relevant to PSCS syndrome (i.e., two PSCS syndrome modules). These two modules had enriched pathways on Toll-like receptor signaling pathway (hsa04620) and Renin-angiotensin system (hsa04614), with the molecular functions of angiotensin maturation (GO:0002003) and response to bacterium (GO:0009617), which had been validated by classical Chinese herbal formulas-related targets, IHD-related drug targets, and the phenotype features derived from human phenotype ontology (HPO) and published biomedical literatures.Conclusion: A network medicine-based approach was proposed to identify the underlying molecular modules of PSCS complicated with IHD, which could be used for interpreting the pharmacological mechanisms of well-established Chinese herbal formulas (e.g., Tao Hong Si Wu Tang, Dan Shen Yin, Hunag Lian Wen Dan Tang and Gua Lou Xie Bai Ban Xia Tang). In addition, these results delivered novel understandings of the molecular network mechanisms of IHD phenotype subtypes with PSCS complications, which would be both insightful for IHD precision medicine and the integration of disease and TCM syndrome diagnoses.

In order to synthesize a peptide-based carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) imaging probe 68Ga-DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10, the labeling and quality control methods were developed. The effects of reaction pH and concentration of the peptide DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10 on the labeling yield were studied. The reaction conditions were confirmed as: pH value 4.0 to 5.0 (n=6), peptide DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10 concentration 15.0 to 40.0 mg/L (n=6), reaction temperature 100 ℃, and reaction time 10 min. The product was clear, colorless liquid, with no visible particles. The pH of the product was 5 to 7 (n=6), the radiochemical purity of 68Ga-DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10 was >99.0% (n=6), and the specific activity of 68Ga-DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10 was 1.0-5.0 GBq/μmol (end of synthesis) (n=6). The lipid-water partition coefficient of the probe was -2.07±0.01 (n=6) which indicated 68Ga-DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10 was favorable hydrophilicity. 68Ga-DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10 showed good in vitro stability in saline and fetal bovine serum at 37 ℃, and the radiochemical purity was >95.0% after 4 hours. White mice did not have abnormal behaviors in undue toxicity experiments. Preliminary results of the study showed that the probe 68Ga-DOTA-CA IX-P1-4-10 is worthy of further study with a simple labeling method, high radiochemical purity, good in vitro stability and favorable biosecurity.

Abstract: Astaxanthin (AST) is a powerful antioxidant that occurs naturally in a wide variety of living organisms. Much experimental evidence has proved that AST has the function of eliminating oxygen free radicals and can protect organisms from oxidative damage. The present study was carried out to further investigate the neuroprotective effect of AST on oxidative stress induced toxicity in primary culture of cortical neurons and on focal cerebral ischemia–reperfusion induced brain damage in rats. AST, over a concentration range of 250–1000nM, attenuated 50μM H2O2-induced cell viability loss. 500nM AST pretreatment significantly inhibited H2O2-induced apoptosis measured by Hoechst 33342 staining and restored the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) measured by a fluorescent dye, Rhodamine 123. In vivo, AST prevented cerebral ischemic injury induced by 2h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and 24h reperfusion in rats. Pretreatment of AST intragastrically twice at 5h and 1h prior to ischemia dramatically diminished infarct volume and improved neurological deficit in a dose-dependent manner. Nissl staining showed that the neuronal injury was significantly improved by pretreatment of AST at 80mg/kg. Taken together, these results suggest that pretreatment with AST exhibits noticeable neuroprotection against brain damage induced by ischemia–reperfusion and the antioxidant activity of AST maybe partly responsible for it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]