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The roles of gut microbiota and metabolomics in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are not well understood. This study investigated the gut metabolomic profiling of GDM rats and GDM rats treated with probiotic supplements. Associations between gut metabolites and microbiota were also studied in GDM rats. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry was used to detect gut metabolites in GDM rats and GDM rats treated with probiotic supplements of 0.5 g (low-dose group) or 1 g (high-dose group) for 15 days. Each gram of probiotic supplement contained 5 × 107 colony-forming units (CFU) of Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG and 1 × 108 CFU of Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies lactis Bb12. The association between gut metabolites and microbiota in GDM rats was investigated using Spearman’s correlation. Finally, 10 rats in the normal pregnant group, eight rats in the GDM model group, eight GDM rats in the low-dose probiotics group, and nine GDM rats in the high-dose probiotics group were further studied. Serum parameters and pancreatic and colon histology were significantly changed in GDM rats, and these were restored using probiotic supplements. In total, 999 gut metabolites were detected in the feces, and GDM rats were distinguished from normal rats. The levels of 44 metabolites were increased in GDM rats, and they were alleviated using probiotic supplements. Changes in metabolites in GDM rats were associated with amino acids and bile acids metabolism signaling pathways. Furthermore, changes in metabolites after probiotic supplementation were associated with porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism pathways. We found that the Allobaculum genus displayed strong positive correlations, whereas the Bryobacter and Gemmatimonas genera displayed strong negative correlations with metabolisms of amino acids and bile acids in GDM rats. The Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera were positively correlated with gut metabolites. Overall, our results showed that metabolism signaling pathways of amino acids and bile acids are associated with the development of GDM. Probiotic supplements alleviate the pathology of GDM through the metabolism pathways of amino acids, bile acids, porphyrin, and chlorophyll.

Stroke, a common disease that endangers the lives and health of millions of people worldwide, exhibits high morbidity, mortality, disability and recurrence rates. Stroke has become the second leading cause of death worldwide (WHO, 2020) and the primary cause of global dysfunction and disability (Kuriakose, & Xiao, 2020). The incidence of stroke in China ranks first in the world, with more than 2 million new cases every year (Wu et al., 2019). Nearly 2 million people die from this disease each year (Wang et al., 2019a). Cerebral infarction, also known as ischaemic stroke, accounts for approximately 70%-80% of strokes and is the major subtype of stroke in China (Wang, 2016;Xu, 2016). Hemiplegia is a typical sequela after cerebral infarction (Shi & Wang, 2021). Limb dysfunction caused by hemiplegia is a common dysfunction and serious sequela of

Objective Numerous methods for modeling gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in rats exist. However, their repeatability and stability are unclear. This study aimed to compare the effects of high-fat and high-sugar (HFHS) diet, HFHS diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ) administration, and HFHS diet combined with movement restriction (MR) modeling methods on rat models to confirm the best method for constructing a rat model of GDM. Method Forty female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10): the normal control (NC), HFHS, HFHS+STZ, and HFHS+MR groups. The rats in the NC group were fed with a standard diet, and those in the remaining groups were fed with a HFHS diet. The rats in the HFHS+STZ group received 25 mg/kg STZ on their first day of pregnancy, and those in the HFHS+MR group were subjected to MR during pregnancy. Bodyweight, food intake, water intake, fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), homeostasis model assessment of insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IS), homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function, pancreatic and placental morphology, and the expression levels of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) in placentas were then quantified. Moreover, iTRAQ was used to identify placental proteomics. Results During pregnancy, the rats in the HFHS+STZ group showed FBG levels that were kept stable in a state of moderate hyperglycemia; the typical GDM symptoms of polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, and increased body weight; and the modeling rate of 87.5%. On the first and 19th days of pregnancy, the rats in the HFHS group showed higher FBG than that of the NC group, increasing body weight and food intake and the modeling rate of 50%. On the 19th day of pregnancy, the FBG of the rats in the HFHS+MR group was higher than that of the rats in the NC group, and the modeling rate of 42.9%. Comparison with the NC group revealed that the three modeling groups exhibited increased FINS and HOMA-IR, decreased HOMA-IS, and different degrees of pathological changes in pancreases and placentas. Among the groups, the HFHS+STZ group displayed the greatest changes with significant reductions in the numbers of pancreatic and placental cells and appeared cavitation. The expression levels of GLUT1 and GLUT3 in the placentas of the HFHS+STZ and HFHS+MR groups were higher than those in the placentas of the NC and HFHS groups. The above results indicated that the rats in the HFHS+STZ group showed the best performance in terms of modeling indicators. After the changes in placental proteomics in the HFHS+STZ group were compared with those in the NC group, we found that in the HFHS+STZ group, five proteins were up-regulated and 18 were down-regulated; these proteins were enriched in estrogen signaling pathways. Conclusion HFHS combined with the intraperitoneal injection of 25 mg/kg STZ was the best modeling meth...

Objective To investigate the perceptions of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) and rehabilitation care amongst women after radical hysterectomy and to explore ways to improve quality of care. Methods Thirty-six women who underwent radical hysterectomy at a hospital in southeast China were enrolled via purposive sampling. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. The texts were analysed via qualitative content analysis. Results Four themes were obtained: serious lack of knowledge, heavy psychological burden, different coping strategies and great eagerness to receive multiparty support on PFD rehabilitation care. Conclusion The society and professional staff should strengthen health education on PFD. Professionals should offer education before and after surgery and actively provide rehabilitation consultation to promote the availability of rehabilitation to support women with PFD rehabilitation care. In addition, family-centred care is an important way to support women to return to normal life, and women's need for family support should be more actively expressed. Moreover, knowledge of medical insurance should be popularised, especially in rural areas in China.