Chinese herbal medicine Shufeng Jiedu capsule for mild to moderate COVID-19: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound global impact, although the majority of recently infected cases have presented with mild to moderate symptoms. Previous clinical studies have demonstrated that Shufeng Jiedu (SFJD) capsule, a Chinese herbal patent medicine, effectively alleviates symptoms associated with the common cold, H1N1 influenza, and COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of SFJD capsules in managing symptoms of mild to moderate COVID-19 infection. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted from May to December 2022 at two hospitals in China. Mild and moderate COVID-19-infected patients presenting respiratory symptoms within 3 days from onset were randomly assigned to either the SFJD or placebo groups in a 1:1 ratio. Individuals received SFJD capsules or a placebo three times daily for five consecutive days. Participants were followed up for more than 14 days after their RT-PCR nucleoid acid test for SARS-CoV-2 turned negative. The primary outcome measure was time to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms from baseline until the end of follow-up. Results: A total of 478 participants were screened; ultimately, 407 completed the trial after randomization (SFJD, n = 203; placebo, n = 204). No statistically significant difference in baseline parameters was observed between the two groups. The median time to alleviate all symptoms was 7 days in the SFJD group compared to 8 days in the placebo group (p = 0.037). Notably, the SFJD group significantly attenuated fever/chills (p = 0.04) and headache (p = 0.016) compared to the placebo group. Furthermore, the median time taken to reach normal body temperature within 24 h was reduced by 7 hours in the SFJD group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.033). No deaths or instances of serious or critical conditions occurred during this trial period; moreover, no serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion: The trial was conducted in a unique controlled hospital setting, and the 5-day treatment with SFJD capsules resulted in a 1-day reduction in overall symptoms, particularly headache and fever/chills, among COVID-19-infected participants with mild or moderate symptoms. Compared to placebo, SFJD capsules were found to be safe with fewer side effects. SFJD capsules could potentially serve as an effective treatment for alleviating mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.isrctn.com/, identifier ISRCTN14236594.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis preparations combined with the renin-angiotensin system inhibitor for diabetic kidney disease treatment: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and network meta-analysis.

Aims: This study aimed to synthesize the evidence of the comparative effectiveness and safety of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (OS) preparations combined with renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) for diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Methods: Eight databases were searched from their inception to May 2023. Systematic reviews (SRs) of OS preparations combined with RASi for DKD were identified. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the included SRs and additional searching were performed for data pooling. Cochrane risk-of-bias 2 (RoB 2) tool and AMSTAR 2 were used to evaluate the methodological quality of RCTs and SRs, respectively. A Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed to compare the add-on effect and safety of OS preparations for DKD. The certainty of evidence was graded using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: Fourteen SRs were included, whose methodological quality was assessed as high (1/14) or critically low (13/14). After combining additional searching, 157 RCTs were included, involving 13,143 participants. The quality of the RCTs showed some concerns (155/157) or high risk (2/157). Jinshuibao capsules and tablets, Bailing capsules and tablets, and Zhiling capsules were evaluated. Compared to RASi, adding either of the OS capsular preparations resulted in a decreased 24-h urinary total protein levels. OS preparations ranked differently in each outcome. Jinshuibao capsules plus RASi were beneficial in reducing urinary protein, serum creatinine, serum urea nitrogen, and blood glucose levels, with moderate-certainty evidence. No serious adverse events were observed after adding OS to RASi. Conclusion: Combining OS capsular preparations with RASi appeared to be associated with decreased urinary total protein levels in DKD patients. Further high-quality studies are needed to confirm. Systematic Review Registration: INPASY202350066.

The study of the mechanism of non-coding RNA regulation of programmed cell death in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) represents a distinct myocardial disorder elicited by diabetes mellitus, characterized by aberrations in myocardial function and structural integrity. This pathological condition predominantly manifests in individuals with diabetes who do not have concurrent coronary artery disease or hypertension. An escalating body of scientific evidence substantiates the pivotal role of programmed cell death (PCD)-encompassing apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and necroptosis-in the pathogenic progression of DCM, thereby emerging as a prospective therapeutic target. Additionally, numerous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been empirically verified to modulate the biological processes underlying programmed cell death, consequently influencing the evolution of DCM. This review systematically encapsulates prevalent types of PCD manifest in DCM as well as nascent discoveries regarding the regulatory influence of ncRNAs on programmed cell death in the pathogenesis of DCM, with the aim of furnishing novel insights for the furtherance of research in PCD-associated disorders relevant to DCM.

Fixed-deviation stabilization and synchronization for delayed fractional-order complex-valued neural networks.

In this paper, we study fixed-deviation stabilization and synchronization for fractional-order complex-valued neural networks with delays. By applying fractional calculus and fixed-deviation stability theory, sufficient conditions are given to ensure the fixed-deviation stabilization and synchronization for fractional-order complex-valued neural networks under the linear discontinuous controller. Finally, two simulation examples are presented to show the validity of theoretical results.

Polymorphisms of Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated Gene in the Pathogenesis of Child and Adolescent Metabolic Syndrome.

Childhood metabolic syndrome (MetS) is prevalent around the world and is associated with a high likelihood of suffering from severe diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in adulthood. MetS is associated with genetic susceptibility that involves gene polymorphisms. The fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) encodes an RNA N6-methyladenosine demethylase that regulates RNA stability and molecular functions. Human FTO contains genetic variants that significantly contribute to the early onset of MetS in children and adolescents. Emerging evidence has also uncovered that FTO polymorphisms in intron 1, such as rs9939609 and rs9930506 polymorphisms, are significantly associated with the development of MetS in children and adolescents. Mechanistic studies reported that FTO polymorphisms lead to aberrant expressions of FTO and the adjacent genes that promote adipogenesis and appetite and reduce steatolysis, satiety, and energy expenditure in the carriers. The present review highlights the recent observations on the key FTO polymorphisms that are associated with child and adolescent MetS with an exploration of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of increased waist circumference, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in child and adolescent MetS.

Optimized Design of an Ultrasonic-Based High-Efficiency Wireless Passive Monitoring System for Sealed Metal Compartments.

The condition monitoring (CM) of sealed metal compartments (SMCs) is an urgently required restructure. Ultrasound penetrates SMCs to power and communicate with built-in sensors, enabling the CM of SMCs. However, current ultrasonic wireless power transfer and data communication (UWPTADC) systems are large and complex, and limited by the efficiency of energy transfer and data reliability. In this paper, an optimized design of a high-efficiency wireless passive monitoring system using UWPTADC techniques is proposed for SMC. The circuit model of the system is developed and analyzed to achieve an optimal design for efficient wireless power transfer and effective data communication coupling. A test system was constructed using a steel wall of 11 mm thickness as a validation object. At the ultrasonic carrier frequency of 1.045 MHz, the system has an energy transfer efficiency of 60%, and a communication rate of 50 kbps. In addition, the system realizes temperature and humidity monitoring inside a 13 mm thick cylindrical SMC, simulating the process of ultrasonic CM of an actual engine compartment. The system provides a wiring-free and battery-free solution for CM in SMCs, advancing CM in aerospace, marine and other fields.

Dehydroepiandrosterone Cocrystals with Improved Solubility and Bioavailability.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an FDA-approved food supplement used as an assisted reproductive sex hormone. The bioavailability is severely limited by its poor solubility (23 µg/mL). Herein, we aimed to modulate its solubility through cocrystallization. Eight cocrystals of DHEA with pyrocatechol (CAT), hydroquinone (HQ), resorcinol (RES), phloroglucinol (PG), 1,5-dihydroxy naphthalene (DHN), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), gallic acid (GA), and 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid (5HIPA) were designed and synthesized. Some basic characterization tools, including powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, were also applied in our work for basic analyses of cocrystals. It is indicated that DHEA-GA exhibits its superiority in dissolution and pharmacokinetic behaviors. While the area under the curve values of DHEA-GA is improved at the ratio of 2.2, the corresponding bioavailability of DHEA is expected to be accordingly increased.

LSTNet: A Reference-Based Learning Spectral Transformer Network for Spectral Super-Resolution.

Hyperspectral images (HSIs) are data cubes containing rich spectral information, making them beneficial to many Earth observation missions. However, due to the limitations of the associated imaging systems and their sensors, such as the swath width and revisit period, hyperspectral imagery over a large coverage area cannot be acquired in a short amount of time. Spectral super-resolution (SSR) is a method that involves learning the relationship between a multispectral image (MSI) and an HSI, based on the overlap region, followed by reconstruction of the HSI by making full use of the large swath width of the MSI, thereby improving its coverage. Much research has been conducted recently to address this issue, but most existing methods mainly learn the prior spectral information from training data, lacking constraints on the resulting spectral fidelity. To address this problem, a novel learning spectral transformer network (LSTNet) is proposed in this paper, utilizing a reference-based learning strategy to transfer the spectral structure knowledge of a reference HSI to create a reasonable reconstruction spectrum. More specifically, a spectral transformer module (STM) and a spectral reconstruction module (SRM) are designed, in order to exploit the prior and reference spectral information. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has the ability to produce high-fidelity reconstructed spectra.