Chinese expert guidance on overall application of lenvatinib in hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华消化外科杂志

Lenvatinib mesylate is an oral receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor against targets of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1-3, fibroblast growth factor receptors 1-4, platelet-derived growth factor receptor α, stem cell growth factor receptor, and rearranged during transfection, et al. Lenvatinib has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration of China on September 4,2018, for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who have not received systematic treatment before. Up to February 2023, Lenvatinib has been listed in China for more than 4 years, accumulating a series of post-marketing clinical research evidences. Based on the clinical practice before and after the launch of lenvatinib and referring to the clinical experience of other anti-angiogenesis inhibitors, domestic multidisciplinary experts and scholars adopt the Delphi method to formulate the Chinese Expert Guidance on Overall Application of Lenvatinib in Hepatocellular Carcinoma after repeated discussions and revisions, in order to provide reference for reasonable and effective clinical application of lenvatinib for clinicians.

Effects of astragaloside Ⅳ on inflammatory response and percentage of peripheral blood Th17 cells in mice with ulcerative colitis / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of astragaloside Ⅳ in mice with ulcerative colitis(UC) and its effect on the percentage of peripheral blood T helper(Th17) cells. Following the establishment of UC mouse model with 2% sodium dextran sulfate(DSS), mice in the positive control group and low-and high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ groups were treated with corresponding drugs by gavage. Disease activity index(DAI) was calculated, and serum interleukin-17(IL-17), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) levels were assayed by ELISA. The pathological changes in colon tissue were observed by HE staining, and Th17/regulatory T cells(Treg) ratio in the peripheral blood was determined by flow cytometry. Western blot was conducted for detecting the relative protein expression levels of forkhead box protein P3(Foxp3) and retinoic acid-related orphan nuclear receptor γT(ROR-γt). The findings demonstrated that in normal mice, the colonic structure was intact. The goblet cells were not reduced and the glands were neatly arranged, with no mucosal erosion, bleeding, or positive cell infiltration. In the model group, the colonic mucosal structure was seriously damaged, manifested as disordered arrangement or missing of glands, vascular dilatation, congestion, and massive inflammatory cell infiltration. The pathological injury of colon tissue was alleviated to varying degrees in drug treatment groups. Compared with the normal group, the model group exhibited elevated percentage of Th17 cells, increased IL-17 and TNF-α content, up-regulated relative ROR-γt protein expression, lowered TGF-β, reduced percentage of Treg cells, and down-regulated relative Foxp3 protein expression. The comparison with the model group showed that DAI score, pathological score, percentage of Th17 cells, IL-17 and TNF-α content, and relative ROR-γt protein expression in the positive control group, low-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group, and high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group were decreased, while TGF-β content, percentage of Treg cells, and relative Foxp3 protein expression were increased. The DAI score, pathological score, percentage of Th17 cells, IL-17 and TNF-α content, and relative ROR-γt protein expression in the low-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group were higher than those in the positive control group, whereas the content of TGF-β, percentage of Treg cells, and relative Foxp3 protein expression were lower. DAI score, pathological score, percentage of Th17 cells, IL-17 and TNF-α content, relative ROR-γt protein expression in the high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group declined in contrast to those in the low-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group, while the TGF-β content, percentage of Treg cells, and relative Foxp3 protein expression rose. There was no significant difference between the positive control group and the high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group. Astragaloside Ⅳ is able to inhibit inflammatory response and diminish the percentage of Th17 cells in mice with UC.

Recent advances in the study of a novel Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract: Due to the continued emergence of multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2, the ongoing pandemic has resulted in severe mortality over the past two years. After the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants, the most recent new variant of concern (VOC) strain to emerge is Omicron (B.1.1.529), which evolved as a result of the accumulation of a large number of mutations. The Omicron variant, which has a much higher transmission rate than the Delta variant, soon replaced the Delta variant and others, is now the dominant variant worldwide. The emergence of Omicron poses new challenges for the prevention and control of COVID-19 and has raised a number of concerns worldwide. Recently, cases of Omicron infection have been reported in several parts of China, and therefore this paper provides a comprehensive analysis and summary of the epidemiology and immune escape mechanisms of the Omicron variant. We also suggest some therapeutic strategies against the Omicron variant, including rapid diagnosis, genome analysis of emerging variants, ramping up of vaccination drives and receiving booster doses, updating the available vaccines, designing of multivalent vaccines able to generate hybrid immunity, up-gradation of medical facilities and strict implementation of adequate prevention and control measures need to be given high priority to handle the on-going COVID-19 pandemic successfully.

Location Analysis of Volatile Oil in Angelicae Sinensis Radix by Frozen Section and Fluorescence Imaging / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo establish a simple， fast and accurate method for locating the volatile oil in Angelicae Sinensis Radix based on frozen section and fluorescence imaging technology， and to reveal the distribution and accumulation of volatile oil in the roots of this herbal medicine. MethodAngelicae Sinensis Radix was used as the research material， the best frozen section conditions for the research material were established by comparing the effects of different cryoprotectants on the quality of frozen sections of Angelicae Sinensis Radix. The suitability of Sudan Ⅲ chemical staining and fluorescence localization for positioning the volatile oil were compared according to the loss of volatile oil and the complexity of operation process. ResultA new method for evaluating the quality of frozen sections of Angelicae Sinensis Radix was established. According to the evaluation equation， it was found that the highest score was obtained when the head， body and tail positions of Angelicae Sinensis Radix were treated with 20% glycerol， 15% glycerol and 20% sucrose， respectively. There was yellowish-brown oily substance in the oil chambers of phelloderm and secondary phloem， and oil canal of the secondary xylem of Angelicae Sinensis Radix， which could be stained orange red or orange yellow by Sudan Ⅲ， and there was green spontaneous fluorescence in the same part under the fluorescence microscope. ConclusionThe relatively complete section of Angelicae Sinensis Radix can be obtained after being treated with cryoprotectant. The volatile oil exists in the oil chambers of phelloderm and secondary phloem， and oil canal of the secondary xylem of Angelicae Sinensis Radix. This study can provide reference for observation of the accumulation sites of volatile oil in other plants.

Gelation of small molecule amorphous drugs / 药学学报

Compared with crystalline drugs, their amorphous forms present long-range disordered molecular arrangements, and often exhibit higher apparent solubility and dissolution. However, several small molecule amorphous drugs may exhibit gelation phenomenon during the dissolution process, and show abnormal dissolution behavior with significantly lower dissolution than crystalline drugs. The current study aims to discover the relationship between the gelation of amorphous drugs and their abnormal dissolution, and further explore the internal gelation mechanism. Amorphous simvastatin (SIM), carvedilol (CAR), and irbesartan (IRB) were prepared by melt cooling method and characterized via X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Gel formation causes the dissolution of these three amorphous drugs to be significantly lower than their crystalline state. The formed gels were characterized as three-dimensional dense network structures by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Furthermore, amorphous SIM, CAR and IRB showed the critical gel temperature at 8-15 ℃, 25-30 ℃ and 45-50 ℃, and amorphous CAR and IRB showed the critical gel pH at 1 and 0.25. The mechanism of gel formation was proposed to be closely related to the transformation of amorphous drugs into the supercooled liquid state (as the important driving force) and the protonation induced self-assembling under acidic conditions. In addition, the wettability and properties of amorphous drugs also affect the formation of gelation.

Research progress on correlation between lncRNAs and pathogenesis of vascular diseases / 中国职业医学

Occupational hand-arm vibration diseases(HAVD) is a legitimate occupational disease in China, and the mechanism of its pathogenesis is vibration-induced vascular injury. Once HAVD occurs, it is difficult for the patients to recover and can cause great harm to workers exposed to hand-arm vibration. It is difficult to detect and evaluate the occurrence and progress of the disease at an early stage using existing technology, which is disadvantageous to the early prevention and treatment of the disease. Long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs) play an important role in regulating the development, growth, and remodeling of blood vessels and other biological processes. This article reviews the role and mechanism of lncRNAs in vascular injury, and provides scientific theoretical basis for early diagnosis and treatment of HAVD.

Identification and evaluation of occupational hazards during construction of a large construction project / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the occupational hazard factors and their critical control points in the process of construction of a large-scale construction project.METHODS: The engineering analysis, worksite survey occupational health and occupational hazard factor testing were conducted in a large-scale construction project, and the results were analyzed. RESULTS: During the process of construction of this large-scale construction project, there were many occupational hazard factors such as silicon dust, welding smoke, wood and other dusts, inorganic compounds of manganese, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, ozone, noise, high temperature, hand-transmitted vibration and ultraviolet irradiation, among them, silicon dust and noise were the most common ones. The over standard rates of exposure concentration of short term of total dust and respirable dust in the workplace were 68.2%(15/22) and 40.9%(9/22), and the over standard rates of exposure concentration of time weighted average were 54.5%(12/22) and 13.6%(3/22), respectively. The over standard rates of the noise intensity of area sampling and personal sampling in workplace were 69.2%(45/65) and 61.0%(25/41) respectively. The four hours energy equivalent frequency-weighted acceleration to vibration of three hand-transmitted vibration positions has been detected, and the result has surpassed the occupational exposure limit.The results of other occupational hazard factors such as high temperature, ultraviolet radiation, wood dust, welding smoke, other dust, manganese inorganic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide and ozone all met the occupational exposure limits. CONCLUSION: There are various occupational hazard factors in the process of construction of this large-scale construction project, among them, noise, dust and hand-transmitted vibration are the most prominent hazards.These hazards are the critical control points of this type of construction projects.

Report of a case of peritoneal mesothelioma caused by occupational asbestos / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical manifestations and diagnostic points of patients with peritoneal mesothelioma caused by occupational asbestos. METHODS: The clinical data of a female patient with peritoneal mesothelioma caused by occupational asbestos and the diagnosis of occupational diseases were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In 2016, the patient was diagnosed and treated in a number of hospitals in a province due to chest and back pain, persistent cough, suffocation, and foamy sputum. After laparoscopic surgery, the peritoneal biopsy was taken for pathological analysis and diagnosed as peritoneal mesothelioma. In December 2016, she died due to a worsening of her condition and lung infection. The patient′s family requested occupational disease diagnosis in May 2017. After investigation and verification by the local occupational disease diagnosis agency and the Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, it was clear that the patient had a history of occupational exposure to asbestos for a total of 23 years and two months. In July 2018, she was retrospectively diagnosed as an occupational tumor(mesothelioma caused by asbestos). CONCLUSION: A clear history of occupational exposure to asbestos and histopathological examination are helpful for the diagnosis of occupational tumors(mesothelioma caused by asbestos).

Effect of warm needling therapy on nerve conduction in patients with occupational hand-arm vibration disease / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of warm needling therapy on the conduction of hand-arm motor nerve and sensory nerve in patients with occupational hand-arm vibration disease(HAVD). METHODS: Male occupational HAVD patients were divided into control group(39 cases) and experimental group(36 cases) by random number table method. The control group received routine therapy, while the experimental group was treated with routine therapy plus warm needling therapy five times a week for four consecutive weeks. The changes on the conduction of motor nerve and sensory nerve in these two groups before and after treatment were compared. RESULTS: Before treatment, the motor nerve conduction velocity(MCV), distal motor latency(DML), compound muscle action potential amplitude(CMAP), sensory nerve conduction velocity(SCV) and sensory nerve action potential amplitude(SNAP) of the median nerve and ulnar nerve in the two groups were compared, and there was no statistically significant difference(all P>0.05). After treatment, the MCV and SCV of median nerve and ulnar nerve in the experimental group were accelerated(all P<0.05), the DML of median nerve and ulnar nerve were shortened(all P<0.01), and the CMAP of median nerve increased compared with the control group(P<0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the CMAP of ulnar nerve and SNAP of median nerve and ulnar nerve(all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Warm needling therapy can improve the conduction of motor nerve and sensory nerve. Warm needling therapy might be able to promote the repair of injury in axons and myelin sheaths.

Application of finger systolic blood pressure in the diagnosis of vibration-induced vascular injury / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the application value of finger systolic blood pressure(FSBP) in the diagnosis of vibration-induced vascular injury. METHODS: Thirty patients with vibration-induced vascular injury [vibration-induced white finger(VWF)] were selected as the case group by a non-randomized concurrent controlled trial, and 30 hand-transmitted vibration workers without VWF were selected as the control group. The FSBP test was performed on the tested hands of all subjects, and the FSBP index of each Finger(F_( i)) was measured. RESULTS: The F_i of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and tail finger of the tested hand in the case group were lower than that in the control group(all P<0.01). In the case group, the F_i of index finger was lower than ring finger and tail finger(all P<0.01). The abnormal rates of F_i on the index, middle and ring fingers in the case group were higher than those in the control group(86.7% vs 10.0%, 76.7% vs 13.3%, 43.3% vs 10.0%, all P<0.01). The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of the measured F_i of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and tail finger were 0.884, 0.843, 0.764 and 0.687 respectively. The diagnostic cut off value of the F_i of index finger was 80.2%. The sensitivity and specificity were 86.7% and 90.0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: FSBP test has a good application value in the diagnosis of vibration-induced vascular injuries. It is suggested that the F_i of index finger be the first choice as the diagnostic index, and the abnormal value can be set at 80.0%.

Analysis of influencing factors of fingertip thermotactile perception threshold in healthy young adults / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the stability of test results of fingertip thermotactile perception threshold(TPT) among healthy individuals and the influencing factors of the TPT test. METHODS: Fifty healthy young volunteers aged 20-25 were selected as the study subjects using the convenience sampling method. The HVLab thermal aesthesiometer was used to perform the fingertip TPT test under the standard condition. Right index, middle, ring, little, left index and little fingers were tested. According to the method of random number table, we selected 25 subjects to receive second test after the interval of two weeks. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC) for cold threshold of right little finger was bigger than 0.75, suggesting the test-retest reliability was excellent. The ICC for hot threshold of six test fingers, cold threshold of right and left index fingers, right middle and left little finges was in the range of 0.60-0.74, indicating the test-retest reliability was good. However, the ICC for cold threshold of right ring finger was less than 0.40, and the test-retest reliability was poor. The hot threshold of right middle, ring and little fingers, and the cold threshold of left little finger of males were higher than those of females(all P<0.05). The cold threshold of right index and little fingers were lower than those of left hand in males(all P<0.05). The cold threshold of right middle and ring fingers were lower than that of the right index finger in females(all P<0.05). The cold threshold of right little finger was lower than those of right index, middle and ring fingers in females(all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The stability of the fingertip TPT result is good in healthy young adults aged 20-25. The fingertip TPT test could be used for occupational health surveillance of workers exposed to hand-transmitted vibration. We should take into account the influence of gender, the right or left hand and different fingers when developing TPT reference values.

Analysis of the vibration reduction effect of three common protective gloves / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To test and analyze the vibration transmissivity of three common kinds of protective gloves, and to determine their actual protecting effect. METHODS: Three kinds of protective gloves were selected as test materials, and five healthy volunteers were selected as subjects using typical sampling methods. According to the ISO 10819:2013 Mechanical Vibration and Shock--Hand-arm Vibration--Measurement and Evaluation of the Vibration Transmissibility of Gloves at the Palm of the Hand(hereinafter referred to as ISO 10819:2013), investigation and measurement of basic parameters of protective gloves. The gloved vibration transmission(GVT) test system was used to test the vibration transmission of different protective gloves worn by the subjects, and the spectrum analysis of vibration reduction characteristics was carried out. RESULTS: The thickness of damping material of all the three kinds of protective gloves met the standard requirements. The mean value for the corrected frequency-weighted glove vibration transmissibility values at 25.0-200.0 Hz were 0.91, 0.75 and 0.94, and 1.05, 0.85 and 1.10 at 200.0-1 250.0 Hz, for the protective gloves A, B and C, respectively. The results of anti-vibration characteristic spectrum analysis show that there has no vibration reduction effect at the frequency of 25.0-200.0 Hz when wearing these three kinds of gloves. Wearing gloves A and B on part of the 200.0-1 250.0 Hz frequency vibration has an amplifying effect. Wearing glove C has a partial vibration reduction effect at the 200.0-1 250.0 Hz frequency, and the vibration reduction efficiency is the highest at the frequency of 1 250.0 Hz.CONCLUSION: According to the ISO 10819:2013 standard, the mean value of GVT measured when wearing the three kinds of protective gloves does not meet the relevant requirements, and the anti-vibration effect is poor. These gloves cannot be defined as anti-vibration gloves.

RT-nPCR Assays for Amplification and Sequencing of VP1 Genes in Human Enterovirus A-D from Clinical Specimens / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Objective@#To develop RT-nPCR assays for amplifying partial and complete VP1 genes of human enteroviruses (HEVs) from clinical samples and to contribute to etiological surveillance of HEV-related diseases.@*Methods@#A panel of RT-nPCR assays, consisting of published combined primer pairs for VP1 genes of HEV A-C and in-house designed primers for HEV-D, was established in this study. The sensitivity of each RT-nPCR assay was evaluated with serially diluted virus stocks of five serotypes expressed as CCID @*Results@#The sensitivity of RT-nPCR assays for amplifying partial VP1 gene of HEVs was 0.1 CCID @*Conclusion@#This RT-nPCR system is capable of amplifying the partial and complete VP1 gene of HEV A-D, providing rapid, sensitive, and reliable options for molecular typing and molecular epidemiology of HEVs in clinical specimens.

Visualization Analysis of Henoch-schonlein Purpura Treated by Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Citespace / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To finding the main research contents, research frontier, author and institutional cooperation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) for treating henoch-schonlein purpura(HSP). Providing reference for the research and development of TCM for treating the disease. Method::Using Citespace to analyze 2 878 TCM articles related to HSP retrieved from CNKI, cluster analysis and burst analysis of literature keywords, co-occurring authors and institutional cooperation analysis. Result::Since 1995, the number of related literature was growing rapidly and had been stable at more than 100 per year after 2005.Cluster analysis showed 32 clusters, consisting of 396 nodes and 638 lines. The main clustering results include Children with allergic purpura, blood-activating and stasis-resolving drug, Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis, blood-cooling drugs, clinical observation, etc. Break analysis yielded 52 emergent words. It can be seen that TCM treatment of HSP is mainly based on cooling blood, followed by activating blood to eliminate stagnation and clearing heat. Commonly used drugs are Moutan Cortex, Paeoniae Radix Rubra, and Rehmanniae Radix, etc. Clinically, it pays more attention to the experience of famous doctors, research on Children with allergic purpura, etc.The author's cooperation network has obtained the maps of the three main cooperation teams with DING Ying, SUN Yi-qiu and HE Ping as the core. The Density of institutional cooperation network is 0.007 1. Conclusion::The main research contents of TCM for treating HSP include Children with allergic purpura, blood-activating and stasis-resolving drug, HSP nephritis, blood-cooling drugs, clinical observation, etc. Children with allergic purpura, experience from famous doctor, HSP nephritis and clinical efficacy is the foremost current research hotspot. A number of research teams have been formed that are relatively stable, but the institutional cooperation is scattered.

Bivariate heritability estimation of resting heart rate and common chronic disease based on extended pedigrees / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To estimate the univariate heritability of resting heart rate and common chronic disease such as hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia based on extended pedigrees in Fujian Tulou area and to explore bivariate heritability to test for the genetic correlation between resting heart rate and other relative phenotypes.@*METHODS@#The study was conducted in Tulou area of Nanjing County, Fujian Province from August 2015 to December 2017. The participants were residents with Zhang surname and their relatives from Taxia Village, Qujiang Village, and Nanou Village or residents with Chen surname and their relatives from Caoban Village, Tumei Village, and Beiling Village. The baseline survey recruited 1 563 family members from 452 extended pedigrees. The pedigree reconstruction was based on the family information registration and the genealogy booklet. Univariate and bivariate heritability was estimated using variance component models for continuous variables, and susceptibility-threshold model for binary variables.@*RESULTS@#The pedigree reconstruction identified 1 seven-generation pedigree, 2 five-generation pedigrees, 23 four-generation pedigrees, 186 three-generation pedigrees, and 240 two-generation pedigrees. The mean age of the participants was 57.2 years and the males accounted for 39.4%. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia in this population was 49.2%, 10.0%, and 45.2%, respectively. The univariate heritability estimation of resting heart rate, hypertension, and dyslipidemia was 0.263 (95%CI: 0.120－0.407), 0.404 (95%CI: 0.135－0.673), and 0.799 (95%CI: 0.590－1), respectively. The heritability of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 0.379, 0.306, 0.393, 0.452, 0.568, 0.852, and 0.387, respectively. In bivariate analysis, there were phenotypic correlations between resting heart rate with hypertension, diabetes, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and triglyceride. After taking resting heart rate into account, there were strong genetic correlations between resting heart rate with fasting glucose (genetic correlation 0.485, 95%CI: 0.120－1, P<0.05) and diabetes (genetic correlation 0.795, 95%CI: 0.181－0.788, P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Resting heart rate was a heritable trait and correlated with several common chronic diseases and related traits. There was strong genetic correlation between resting heart rate with fasting glucose and diabetes, suggesting that they may share common genetic risk factors.

Effects of six compounds with different chemical structures on melanogenesis / 中国天然药物

Several chemical compounds can restore pigmentation in vitiligo through mechanisms that vary according to disease etiology. In the present study, we investigated the melanogenic activity of six structurally distinct compounds, namely, scopoletin, kaempferol, chrysin, vitamin D, piperine, and 6-benzylaminopurine. We determined their effectiveness, toxicity, and mechanism of action for stimulating pigmentation in B16F10 melanoma cells and in a zebrafish model. The melanogenic activity of 6-benzylaminopurine, the compound identified as the most potent, was further verified by measuring green fluorescent protein concentration in tyrp1 a: eGFP (tyrosinase-related protein 1) zebrafish and mitfa: eGFP (microphthalmia associated transcription factor) zebrafish and antioxidative activity. All the tested compounds were found to enhance melanogenesis responses both in vivo and in vitro at their respective optimal concentration by increasing melanin content and expression of TYR and MITF. 6-Benzyamino-purine showed the strongest re-pigmentation action at a concentration of 20 μmol·Lin vivo and 100 μmol·Lin vitro, and up-regulated the strong fluorescence expression of green fluorescent protein in tyrp1a: eGFP and mitfa: eGFP zebrafish in vitro. However, its relative anti-oxidative activity was found to be very low. Overall, our results indicated that 6-benzylaminopurine stimulated pigmentation through a direct mechanism, by increasing melanin content via positive regulation of tyrosinase activity in vitro, as well as up-regulating the expression of the green fluorescent protein in transgenic zebrafish in vivo.

Effects of six compounds with different chemical structures on melanogenesis / 中国天然药物

Several chemical compounds can restore pigmentation in vitiligo through mechanisms that vary according to disease etiology. In the present study, we investigated the melanogenic activity of six structurally distinct compounds, namely, scopoletin, kaempferol, chrysin, vitamin D, piperine, and 6-benzylaminopurine. We determined their effectiveness, toxicity, and mechanism of action for stimulating pigmentation in B16F10 melanoma cells and in a zebrafish model. The melanogenic activity of 6-benzylaminopurine, the compound identified as the most potent, was further verified by measuring green fluorescent protein concentration in tyrp1 a: eGFP (tyrosinase-related protein 1) zebrafish and mitfa: eGFP (microphthalmia associated transcription factor) zebrafish and antioxidative activity. All the tested compounds were found to enhance melanogenesis responses both in vivo and in vitro at their respective optimal concentration by increasing melanin content and expression of TYR and MITF. 6-Benzyamino-purine showed the strongest re-pigmentation action at a concentration of 20 μmol·Lin vivo and 100 μmol·Lin vitro, and up-regulated the strong fluorescence expression of green fluorescent protein in tyrp1a: eGFP and mitfa: eGFP zebrafish in vitro. However, its relative anti-oxidative activity was found to be very low. Overall, our results indicated that 6-benzylaminopurine stimulated pigmentation through a direct mechanism, by increasing melanin content via positive regulation of tyrosinase activity in vitro, as well as up-regulating the expression of the green fluorescent protein in transgenic zebrafish in vivo.

Application of intraoperative MRI combined with neuronavigation in microsurgical resection for insular glioma / 中南大学学报(医学版)

Objective:To evaluate the value of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) combined with neuronavigation for the resection of insular gliomas.Methods:From August 2014 to October 2017 in the First Hospital Affiliated to Sun Yat-sen University,clinical data of 41 patients with insular glioma,who underwent the surgery assisted with 3.0T iMRI and neuronavigation,were analyzed retrospectively,and the resection extent,complications and prognosis were evaluated.Results:Subtotal tumor resection was achieved in 21 patients and partial resection was done in 20 after iMRI scanning.After further resection,total tumor resection was achieved in 16 patients,subtotal resection in 18 and partial resection in 7.There was a statistical significant difference in tumor resection between pre-iMRI and post-iMRI according to the Fisher test (P＜0.05).In the follow-up from 3 months to 3 years,the symptoms of the 41 patients had improved.Conclusion:iMRI corrected the shift of brain.Neuronavigation can accurately and timely assess the degree of resecting tumor.The combination of neuronavigation with surgery can maximally and safely resect insular glioma.

Antiviral effect of a Qingwen Jiedu formula on the influenza A virus FM1 strain in mice / 国际药学研究杂志

Objective To investigate the antiviral effect of a Qingwen Jiedu formula(QJF)on the influenza A virus FM1 strain using the virus-infected mouse model.Method BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the normal control group(to adminis-ter the same volume of saline),model control group(to administer the same volume of saline),positive drug control group[to admin-ister the 10 mg/(kg·d)of oseltamivir phosphate],and the 5,10 and 20 g/(kg·d)QJF-test groups,respectively.The mice in the nor-mal control group were intranasally instilled with PBS 20 μl,while the others were infected with the equal volume of diluted influenza virus solutions via the same intranasal way.After two hours of the virus infection,the drugs or saline solutions were orally administered to the mice once a day for successive six days.The mortality,average of survival time and protection rate on the animal death were de-termined to evaluate the protective effect of QJF on the virus-infected mice.Furthermore,the lung index,lung tissue viral load and se-rum levels of the inflammatory factors,TNF-α,IFN-γ,IL-6,were also detected as the related indicators for the effect of QJF. Re-sults Compared with the model control group,the mortality of the mice was significantly decreased together with the significant im-provement of the average survival time and protection rate in the 5,10 and 20 g/(kg·d)QJF groups(P<0.01).Further in the10 and 20 g/(kg·d)QJF groups,the lung index and lung tissue viral load decreased significantly both at the third day and sixth day of the vi-rus infection(P<0.01).Meanwhile,the serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels were also significantly decreased(P<0.01),while the serum IFN-γ levels increased significantly in the 10 and 20 g/(kg·d)QJF groups(P<0.01)than in the model control group,especially with a more significant increase in the 10 g/(kg·d)QJF group.Conclusion QJF showed an antiviral effect on the influenza A virus FM1 strain in the in vivo test in mice,which was thus expected likely to be developed as a new anti-influenza drug in future.

Effects of minimally invasive versus open esophagectomy on circulating tumor cells in patients with esophageal cancer / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) and open esophagectomy (OE) on the level of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with esophageal cancer (EC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 73 patients with EC undergoing MIE (n=38) or OE (n=35) in our department between October, 2015 and October, 2017 were enrolled, with 10 patients with benign esophagus disease and 10 healthy volunteers as controls. The levels of CTCs in the peripheral blood of the participants were detected using CanPatrol technique and analyzed for their association with the operation methods and perioperative complications.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CTCs were detected in 60.3% (44/73) of the EC patients but in none of the control subjects. CTC level after the surgery was significantly higher than that during the surgery, and CTC level during the surgery was significantly higher than that before surgery (P<0.001). The preoperative and intra-operative CTC levels were not significantly different between MIE and OE groups (P>0.05), but the postoperative CTC level was significantly lower in MIE group than in OE group, and postoperative increment of CTC level (from the preoperative level) was significantly lower in MIE group than in OE group (P<0.001). The total incidence of postoperative complications was significantly lower in MIE group than in OE group (28.9% vs 54.3%, P=0.023), and in both groups, CTC levels in patients with complications were significantly higher than those in patients without complications (P=0.001 and P=0.005 in MIE and OE groups, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>MIE may help to reduce the number of peripheral blood CTCs early after the operation, and dynamic monitoring CTCs level assists in evaluation of the prognosis of EC patients. CTC level may serve as an indicator for monitoring the prognosis of EC.</p>