Correlation between stool form and diversity of intestinal flora among children and adolescents / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the differences and diversity changes in gut microbiota between children and adolescents with constipation and diarrhea, and healthy individuals, and to explore the correlation between changes in stool consistency and gut microbiota, in order to provide a scientific reference for the research on intestinal microecology among children and adolescents.@*Methods@#From October 2021 to March 2022, a total of 42 children and adolescents with constipation and 37 with diarrhea from a tertiary hospital in Hangzhou City, and 43 healthy individuals from 3 primary and secondary schools were included in this study. Fecal samples of children and adolescents were collected and then stool genomic DNA was extracted for 16S rRNA gene high throughput sequencing, and the sequencing results were analyzed. In the analysis of alpha diversity, the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was used to compare the differences between the three groups, and the FDR multiple testing correction was used for pairwise comparisons. In the analysis of beta diversity, the Adonis test was used to compare the overall differences between the three groups, and the ANOSIM test was used for pairwise comparisons. In the LEfSe analysis, the LDA scores obtained through LDA analysis (linear regression analysis).@*Results@#Alpha diversity analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in the Shannon index (4.01, 3.81, 4.19) and Simpson index (0.05, 0.06, 0.04) between the diarrhea group, constipation group, and healthy group ( H=6.05, 6.35, P <0.1). Further pairwise comparison showed that the Shannon index and Simpson index of the healthy group were higher than those of the constipation group ( P <0.1). Beta diversity analysis showed that the impact of grouping factors on inter group differences was statistically significant ( R 2=0.045, P <0.1). Community composition analysis showed that there were 234 species in total among the three groups, and 36 unique species in the healthy group, 36 species in the diarrhea group, and 48 species in the constipation group. Species difference analysis showed significant differences in species composition at the genus level among the three groups ( H=0.000 05, 0.000 16, 0.000 20, 0.000 21, 0.000 53, 0.001 39, P <0.1), including Lachnospiraceae of Firmicutes phylum, Eubacterium hallii, Veillonellaceae, Qscillospiraceae, Butyricicoccaceae and Staphylococcaceae, respectively. KEGG abundance statistics and COG functional analysis showed that there were no significant differences in gene expression abundance of the same function among the three groups ( P >0.1).@*Conclusions@#The different stool consistency of children and adolescents is related to changes in gut microbiota composition. Compared to the healthy group, children with constipation or diarrhea have disrupted gut microbiota balance, with a shift in dominant bacteria and a higher abundance of opportunistic pathogens.

Physical growth and dietary characteristics of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a cross-sectional study / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the physical growth and dietary characteristics of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to analyze their relationship with core symptoms of ADHD.@*METHODS@#A total of 268 children who were newly diagnosed with ADHD in Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June to December 2020 were included in the ADHD group, and 102 healthy children who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. Physical evaluations and dietary surveys were conducted for both groups. ADHD diagnosis and scoring were performed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition). Factor analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and mediation analysis were used to study the relationship between core symptoms of ADHD, dietary patterns, and physical growth.@*RESULTS@#The rate of overweight/obesity in the ADHD group was significantly higher than that in the control group (35.8% vs 21.6%, P<0.05). Three dietary patterns were extracted from the food frequency questionnaire: vegetarian dietary pattern, traditional dietary pattern, and snack/fast food pattern. The factor score for the snack/fast food pattern in the ADHD group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between ADHD symptom scores, snack/fast food pattern factor scores, and body fat percentage (P<0.05). The mediation analysis showed that the snack/fast food pattern played a partial mediating role in the relationship between ADHD symptom scores and body fat percentage, with a mediation proportion of 26.66%.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The rate of overweight/obesity in children with ADHD is higher than that in non-ADHD children. Core symptoms of ADHD are related to dietary patterns and physical growth, with the snack/fast food pattern playing a partial mediating role in the relationship between core symptoms of ADHD and physical growth.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium ameliorates diabetic foot ulcers in rats

Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to explore the effects of bone marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Conditioned Medium (MSC-CM) treating diabetic foot ulcers in rats. Methods: Models of T2DM rats were induced by a high-fat diet and intraperitoneal injection of STZ in SD rats. Models of Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) were made by operation on hind limbs in diabetic rats. Rats were divided into four groups (n = 6 for each group), i.e., Normal Control group (NC), Diabetes Control group (DM-C), MSC-CM group and Mesenchymal Stem Cells group (MSCs). MSC-CM group was treated with an injection of conditioned medium derived from preconditioned rats' bone marrow MSCs around ulcers. MSCs group were treated with an injection of rats' bone marrow MSCs. The other two groups were treated with an injection of PBS. After the treatment, wound closure, re-epithelialization (thickness of the stratum granulosums of the skin, by H&E staining), cell proliferation (Ki67, by IHC), angiogenesis (CD31, by IFC), autophagy (LC3B, by IFC and WB; autoly-sosome, by EM) and pyroptosis (IL-1β, NLRP3, Caspase-1, GSDMD and GSDMD-N, by WB) in ulcers were evaluated. Results: After the treatment wound area rate, IL-1β by ELISA, and IL-1β, Caspase-1, GSDMD and GSDMD-N by WB of MSC-CM group were less than those of DM group. The thickness of the stratum granulosums of the skin, proliferation index of Ki67, mean optic density of CD31 and LC3B by IFC, and LC3B by WB of MSC-CM group were more than those of DM group. The present analysis demonstrated that the injection of MSC-CM into rats with DFUs enhanced the wound-healing process by accelerating wound closure, promoting cell proliferation and angiogenesis, enhancing cell autophagy, and reducing cell pyroptosis in ulcers. Conclusions: Studies conducted indicate that MSC-CM administration could be a novel cell-free therapeutic approach to treat DFUs accelerating the wound healing process and avoiding the risk of living cells therapy.

Performance of 68Ga-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen ligand positron emission tomography/computed tomography in the diagnosis of primary prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Objective: To explore the feasibility of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in diagnosing primary prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Embase, PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies published before July 2020. The studies that used 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT for detecting primary prostate cancer, and pathological biopsy as the reference standard were included. The selecting process used preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). The quality of enrolled studies was assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool. Results: According to our search strategy, 9 studies were included for analysis. A total of 547 patients with primary prostate cancer and 443 lesion segments that underwent 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT scans were included and their pathological biopsies were compared. The results of these studies showed some differences. For instance, the lowest sensitivity of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in diagnosing primary prostate cancer was 67%, while the highest sensitivity recorded was 97%. Conclusions: Compared with conventional imaging examinations, 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT had higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting primary prostate cancer. At present, most of the studies that used 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT for detecting prostate cancer are retrospective studies. Based on its advantage of high detection rate, the use of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in the detection of primary prostate cancer is worthy of promotion.

Baicalein inhibits neuroinflammation via NOX2/STAT1/NF-κB pathway in LPS-induced BV-2 cells based on bioinformatics methods / 药学学报

This study identified the exact molecular mechanisms of baicalein on neuroinflammation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV-2 cells. Bioinformatics methods and molecular docking were integrated for predicting the potential targets and mechanisms of baicalein. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot were used to analyze the predicted key targets [inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)], the expression level of protein related to signal transducer and activator of transcription 1/nuclear factor kappa-B (STAT1/NF-‍κB) signaling pathway and its upstream regulator NADPH oxidase-2 (NOX2), and then the mechanism of baicalein in alleviating neuroinflammation was explored. The results showed that iNOS and COX-2 were predicted as the key targets and NF-κB signaling pathway was one of the important pathways by bioinformatics methods and molecular docking. Experimental verification showed that baicalein could significantly reduce the expression of iNOS and COX-2, inhibit the phosphorylation of NF-κB and STAT1 and the production of NOX2 in LPS-induced BV-2 cells. To sum up, baicalein could effectively inhibit the inflammatory reaction in LPS-induced BV-2 cells through regulating NOX2 (gp91phox/p47phox)/STAT1/NF-κB pathway.

A novel pathogenic Colletotrichum species for rhizome rot disease of Polygonatum kingianum / 中国中药杂志

Rhizome rot disease is one of the main disease of planted Polygonatum kingianum. In this study, six strains of pathogenic fungus was isolated from P. kingianum samples with rhizome rot disease collected from six counties in Yunnan province. Its pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculation to healthy P. kingianum rhizome according to Koch's postulates. The colonies of the isolated fungi on potato dextrose agar(PDA) were orange with abundant crescentic conidia which were eseptate with a mean size of 19. 3-24. 9 μm×5. 2-5. 9 μm and a L/W ratio of 3. 4-4. 5. There was an oil ball in the center of the conidium. It's easy to see setae on PDA colony.The phylogenetic tree based on ITS, GAPDH, CHS-1, HIS3, ACT, and TUB2 sequences by maximum likelihood(ML) method indicated that the pathogenic fungus for P. kingianum rhizome rot disease was clustered into the clade of Colletotrichum spaethianum species complex, and was close to C. spaethianum. However, there were some differences in morphological and genetic characteristics between the pathogenic fungus and C. spaethianum. Therefore, the pathogenic fungus for rhizome rot disease of P. kingianum was identified as a new Colletotrichum species named C. kingianum. The disease spreads primarily due to the plantation of infected seedlings of P. kingianum. It is necessary to choose healthy seedlings and take rigorous disinfection measures for the disease prevention.

The neuroprotection of cerebrolysin after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage through regulates necroptosis via Akt/ GSK3B signaling pathway

ABSTRACT Purpose: Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a major cause of death and disability with a huge economic burden worldwide. Cerebrolysin (CBL) has been previously used as a nootropic drug. Necroptosis is a programmed cell death mechanism that plays a vital role in neuronal cell death after ICH. However, the precise role of necroptosis in CBL neuroprotection following ICH has not been confirmed. Methods: In the present study, we aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects and potential molecular mechanisms of CBL in ICH-induced early brain injury (EBI) by regulating neural necroptosis in the C57BL/6 mice model. Mortality, neurological score, brain water content, and neuronal death were evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, Evans blue extravasation, Western blotting, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The results show that CBL treatment markedly increased the survival rate, neurological score, and neuron survival, and downregulated the protein expression of RIP1 and RIP3, which indicated that CBL-mediated inhibition of necroptosis, and ameliorated neuronal death after ICH. The neuroprotective capacity of CBL is partly dependent on the Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway. Conclusions: CBL improves neurological outcomes in mice and reduces neuronal death by protecting against neural necroptosis.

Investigation on intelligence, self-concept and psychosocial adaptation of precocious girls / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the intelligence, self-concept and psychosocial adaptability among girls with precocious puberty,and to provide theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of precocious puberty in girls.@*Methods@#Performed the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-concept Scale and the Social Adaptive Quotient for evaluating the intelligence quotient (IQ), self-concept and psychosocial adaptability of 45 precocious girls and 90 normal girls,respectively. The differences between these two groups of girls were analyzed.@*Results@#The level of intelligence of precocious girls (119.80±16.37) was higher than that of normal girls (109.96±17.13)(t=3.19, P<0.01). The total score of self-concept of precocious girls (57.98±6.14) was lower than that of girls in the normal group (61.68±5.16)(t=3.68, P<0.01). Furthermore, the independent functional factors, cognitive functional factors, social self-control factors and ADQ of precocious girls were lower than those of normal girls (P<0.01), and 24.4% of them were at the lower limit of psychosocial adaptability, lower than those of normal girls(U=4.84，P<0.01).@*Conclusion@#Girls with precocious puberty show impairments on the development of intelligence, self-concept and psychosocial adaptability.

A smartphone-based school syndromic surveillance system and its application in Hangzhou / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To establish and implement a smartphone-based school syndromic surveillance system, and to provide references for school communicable disease control and prevention.@*Methods@#A smartphone-based school syndromic surveillance system was constructed and applied. A list of seven symptoms including fever, cough, vomit, diarrhea, rash, red eye and parotid swelling was classified as targeted indicators. Spatio-temporal permutation scanning was applied to automatic early warning.@*Results@#A total of 1 973 school joined the syndromic surveillance system. System usage rate was 54.13%, no significant differences were found among different types of schools(χ2=1.58, P=0.67), whereas significant differences were observed among counties（χ2=726.78, P<0.01). Totally, 852 036 pieces of symptoms data were reported during September 2018 to March 2019, the primary symptoms included cough (35.17%) and fever (21.11%). Time trends in different symptoms varied with time, with fever and cough highest in January, vomit and diarrhea in November. Thirteen pieces of early warning were confirmed as school communicable diseases by field investigation, the average number of the infected students were four.@*Conclusion@#The smartphone-based school syndromic surveillance system is generally acceptable. Characteristic seasonal distributions of school communicable diseases are reflected accurately by surveillance system which plays an active role in prevention and control of school communicable diseases.

JcZFP8, a C2H2 zinc finger protein gene from Jatropha curcas, influences plant development in transgenic tobacco

Background: Jatropha curcas L., as an important strategic biofuel resource with considerable economic potential, has attracted worldwide attention. However, J. curcas has yet to be domesticated. Plant height, an important agronomic trait of J. curcas, has not been sufficiently improved, and the genetic regulation of this trait in J. curcas is not fully understood. Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs), a class of transcription factors, have previously been shown to play critical roles in regulating multiple aspects of plant growth and development and may accordingly be implicated in the genetic regulation of plant height in J. curcas. Results: In this study, we cloned JcZFP8, a C2H2 ZFP gene in J. curcas. We found that the JcZFP8 protein was localized in the nucleus and contained a conserved QALGGH motif in its C2H2 structure. Furthermore, ectopic expression of JcZFP8 under the control of the 35S promoter in transgenic tobacco resulted in dwarf plants with malformed leaves. However, when JcZFP8 was knocked out, the transgenic tobacco did not show the dwarf phenotype. After treatment with the gibberellic acid (GA) biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol (PAC), the dwarf phenotype was more severe than plants that did not receive the PAC treatment, whereas application of exogenous gibberellin3 (GA3) reduced the dwarf phenotype in transgenic plants. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that JcZFP8 may play a role in J. curcas plant phenotype through GA-related pathways. Our findings may help us to understand the genetic regulation of plant development in J. curcas and to accelerate breeding progress through engineering of the GA metabolic pathway in this plant. How to cite: Shi X,Wu Y, Dai T, et al. JcZFP8, a C2H2 zinc-finger protein gene from Jatropha curcas, influences plant development in transgenic tobacco.

Polydatin inhibits cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and induces cell apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Polydatin, a small molecule from Polygonum cuspidatum, has many biological functions, particularly anti-cancer effects. However, the anti-cancer effects of polydatin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been examined yet. In the present study, MTT assay, BrdU assay, transwell invasion assay, and wound healing assay were performed to determine cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Flow cytometry and TUNEL assay were used to measure cell apoptosis. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting assays were used to determine mRNA and protein expression levels. Xenograft experiment was performed to determine the in vivo anti-tumor effect of polydatin. Immunostaining was performed to analyze the expression of caspase-3 and Ki-67. Our results showed that polydatin inhibited cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner in the HCC cell lines. Polydatin also induced cell apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner possibly via increasing the caspase-3 activity, and up-regulating the protein expression of caspase-3, caspase-9, Bax, and down-regulating the protein expression of Bcl-2. In addition, polydatin treatment had an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation, invasion and migration in HCC cell lines. Polydatin treatment also suppressed the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling activities in HCC cells. Polydatin treatment significantly reduced tumor growth in nude mice inoculated with HepG2 cells, suppressed the expression of Ki-67, and increased caspase-3 expression and TUNEL activity. Our data indicated the important role of polydatin for the suppression of HCC progression.

Gray mold disease of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis and its pathogen identification / 中国中药杂志

Gray mold disease is one of the most important diseases of planted Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis, the disease appeared primarily as blossom blights and fruit rots, but also as stem rots, leaf rots.In this study, the pathogenetic fungi was isolated from plant tissue or sclerotia that covering the fruit of diseased P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, the pathogen was certified according to Koch's Postulation. The pathogen produced abundant black, irregular sclerotia on surface of diseased plants and potato dextrose agar. The conidiophores and clusters of oval conidia resembled a grape-like cluster, the size of conidia was 9.70-13.70 μm [average of (11.32±0.82)μm]×7.05-9.12 μm [average of (8.24±0.48)μm], the microconidia produced on potato dextrose agar were spherical,and the size was （3.34±0.31） μm,the pathogen was identified as Botrytis sp based on morphological characteristics. The DNA sequence analysis of the G3PDH, HSP60, RPB2 genes placed the pathogen in a single clade that outside defined species of Botrytis, so the pathogen could be identified as a new species of Botrytis. The pathogen requires 20 °C, pH 8, darkness or low light condition for the best growth.

RecET recombination system driving chromosomal target gene replacement in Zymomonas mobilis

Background: Zymomonas mobilis is a Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterium with excellent ethanol-producing capabilities. The RecET recombination system provides an efficient tool for direct targeting of genes in the bacterial chromosome by PCR fragments. Results: The plasmids pSUZM2a-RecET and pSUZM2a-RecE588T were first developed to co-express RecE or RecE588 and RecT for homologous recombination. Thereafter, the PCR fragments of the tetracycline resistance marker gene flanked by 60 bp of adhA (alcohol dehydrogenase I) or adhB (alcohol dehydrogenase II) homologous sequences were electroporated directly into ZM4 cells harboring pSUZM2a-RecET or pSUZM2a-RecE588T. Both adhA and adhB were replaced by the tetracycline resistance gene in ZM4, yielding two mutant strains, Z. mobilis ZM4 ΔadhA and Z. mobilis ZM4 ΔadhB. These two mutants showed varying extent of reduction in ethanol production, biomass generation, and glucose metabolism. Furthermore, enzyme activity of alcohol dehydrogenase II in Z. mobilis ZM4 ΔadhB exhibited a significant reduction compared to that of wild-type ZM4. Conclusion: This approach provided a simple and useful method for introducing mutations and heterologous genes in the Z. mobilis genome.

Stocking Analysis on TCM Human Resources under Characteristic Medical Reform in Gansu Province / 中国中医药信息杂志

Human resources are the key to TCM development. This article explored the effective channels to construct the system by deeply studying and identifying problem of the quantity, quality, configuration, development and training of TCM human resources under the characteristic medical reform of Gansu Province to provide references for better research and plan of TCM human resources for relevant department, further to realize the sustabile development of TCM characteristic medical reform in Gansu Province.

Protective action of aspirin and its against endothelial Nlrp3 inflammasome activation in response to LPS stimuli / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

OBJECTIVE Recent studies have demonstrated that the Nlrp3 inflammasome serve as a central role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases and endothelial dysfunction occurs in association with several cardiovascular risk factors. Given the demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects of aspirin, the present study was designed to test whether aspirin diminish NLRP3 inflammasome activation and prevent endothelium injury and associated coronary artery damage during LPS. METHODS Mouse carotid arterial endothelial cells (CAECs) were cultured and treated with 0.1-3 mmol·L-1 of aspirin in response to LPS (2 μg·mL-1) stimuli. After 24 h, the Nlrp3 inflammasome complexes consist of varied proteins were analyzed by WB. NO and T-AOC in the supernatant was detected by ELISA. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation for 24 h was observed by DCF fluorescence. The mice were treated with aspirin (12.5 mg·kg-1 per day, 62.5 mg·kg-1 per day, 125 mg·kg-1 per day) and dexametha?sone (0.0182 mg · kg- 1 per day) for 7 d. The level of IL- 1β,IL- 18 protein was detected by ELISA. RESULTS Immunofluorescence results showed the colocalization of Nlrp3 with ASC or caspase 1 decrease in a concentration- dependent manner. Meanwhile, the expression of Nlrp3 and caspase 1 protein was decreased with the concentration of aspirin, but no changes the expression of ASC protein. Nlrp3 protein levels in CAECs were 0.33- 0.8- fold and cle- caspase 1 protein levels in CAECs were 0.48-1-fold compared to those in LPS stimulation when treated with 0.1-3 mmol·L-1 aspirin for 24 h (P<0.01). Aspirin significantly antagonized the effect of LPS on NO (1.22-1.91-fold that of LPS stimulation, P<0.01) and T-AOC expression (1.02-1.90-fold that of LPS stimulation, P<0.01). As the different concentration of aspirin treated, the generation of ROS was 0.51-1.10-fold that of LPS stimulation (P<0.01). In vivo data shown the level of IL-1β, IL-18 protein from serum are in concordance with the level of Nlrp3 inflammasome activation. CONCLUSION We conclude that aspirin has anti- inflammatory properties, protecting CAECs from LPS-induced injury by inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation through ROS pathway.

Topical calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate for psoriasis vulgaris: A systematic review.

Topical calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate ointment/gel has been commonly used for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris. However, the effi cacy of this combination needs to be consolidated. We aimed to assess the effects and safety profi le of calcipotriol/ betamethasone dipropionate for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris, using evidence based approach. Randomized controlled trials on the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris with calcipotriol/ betamethasone dipropionate were identifi ed by searching PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and the Cochrane Library. The primary outcome measure was the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score. Ten randomized controlled trials involving 6590 participants were included. The methodologies of the studies were generally of moderate to high quality. These trials used topical calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate for 4 or 8 weeks, and were compared with topical calcipotriol or betamethasone. The results showed that calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate was more effective than controls. A four-week treatment with calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate did not show any signifi cant difference between the once-daily or twice-daily regimen. The adverse events of calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate were tolerable and acceptable. The reports included in this review are heterogenous and have limitations. Topical application of calcipotriol/ betamethasone dipropionate once daily is an effi cacious treatment for psoriasis vulgaris and is associated with few side effects.

Repellent activity of Glycosmis plant extracts against two stored product insects / Actividad repelente de extractos de plantas Glycosmis contra dos insectos de productos almacenados

In the present study, the repellent activities of the leaf and/or stem crude extracts of Glycosmis lucida Wall. ex Huang, G. craibii var. glabra, G. craibii Tanaka, G. oligantha Huang, G. pentaphylla (Retz) Correa. and G. esquirolii (Levl.) Tanaka were analyzed by using assays on petri dishes against Tribolium castaneum and Liposcelis bostrychophila. The leaf and stem extracts of G. lucida, G. craibii var. glabra, G. craibii Tanaka, G. oligantha and G. esquirolii possessed significant repellent activities against T. castaneum, the same level repellent with the positive control, DEET. However, the extracts of G. pentaphylla, no repellency but some insect attractant was observed. Moreover, they also showed repellent activities against L. bostrychophila. These results indicate that extracts from G. lucida and G. oligantha leaf could be a source of novel repellent against insects.

En el presente estudio, las actividades repelentes de la hoja y/o tronco de los extractos crudos de Glycosmis lucida Wall. ex Huang, G. craibii var. glabra, G. craibii Tanaka, G. oligantha Huang, G. pentaphylla (Retz) Correa y G. esquirolii (Levl.) Tanaka se analizaron mediante el uso de ensayos en placas de Petri contra Tribolium castaneum y Liposcelis bostrychophila. Los extractos de las hojas y tallo de G. lucida, G. craibii var. glabra, G. craibii Tanaka, G. oligantha y G. esquirolii poseían actividades repelentes significativas contra T. castaneum, el mismo nivel repelente del control positivo, el DEET. Sin embargo, los extractos de G. pentaphylla, no se observó la repelencia pero sí actividad atrayente de insectos. Por otra parte, también se mostraron las actividades repelentes contra L. bostrychophila. Estos resultados indican que los extractos de hojas de G. lucida y G. oligantha podrían ser una fuente de repelente contra los insectos.

Phytochemicals, Nutritional Analysis and In vitro Antioxidant Activities of Pickled Perilla frutescens Ethanolic Leaf Extract.

Aims: With pickled perilla leaves as raw materials, this paper proposed the optimal ethanol extraction conditions and made a profound analysis for extract in the compositions of major active ingredients, nutrients, mineral elements and amino acid to characterize the nutritional and biological properties of pickled perilla leaves, which could aid its finely processing and future application in the development of functional food. Methods: The optimum ethanol extraction process for preparing freeze-dried powder from pickled perilla was studied by means of orthogonal experiments, with the concentration of ethanol, extracting temperature and extracting time as factors. Meanwhile, the contents of the activity components, such as polysaccharide, flavones and rosmarinic acid, as well as the mineral elements and nutritional contents in the freezedried powder were determined according to the methods reported by relevant literatures without or with a few modifications. Results: The optimal extracting conditions as follows: 50ºC of temperature, 60 min of extraction time and 80% of ethanol concentration. Under the optimal extracting conditions, the extraction rate of the freeze-dried powder was 1.71%. Moreover, perilla leaf extract contained rich biological and nutritional ingredients, including 33.39% of flavonoids, 9.24% of polysaccharides, 22.79% of rosmarinic acid, 5.47% of protein, 7.61% of fat, 2354 mg/kg of Ca, 111.4 mg/kg of Fe, 5.045 mg/kg of Zn, 1817 mg/kg of K , 12.66 mg/kg of Mn and nine of essential amino acids. In addition, perilla leaf extract exhibited obvious scavenging effects on the DPPH•, •OH and O2 •. Conclusion: In summary, pickled perilla leaf ethanol extract was rich in biological ingredients as well as a variety of nutrients, and showed antioxidant activities in vitro, thus it is valuable and promising in the development of functional foods in the future.

Antitumor function and mechanism of phycoerythrin from Porphyra haitanensis

The anti-tumor effect of R-Phycoerythrin (R-PE) from Porphyra haitanensis was studied using cell line HeLa as an in vitro model and Sarcoma-180 (S180) tumor-bearing mice as an in vivo model. The results showed that the combination treatment of R-PE and photodynamic therapy PDT) significantly inhibited the growth of HeLa cells up to 81.5%, with a fair dose-effect relationship, but did not inhibit endothelial cells. The annexin v-fitc/PI fluorescence staining experiments demonstrated that at doses between 0~60µg/mL, apoptosis cells and later stage apoptosis cells or necrosis cells increased significantly as the R-PE dosage increased. DNA electrophoresis showed that after R-PE+PDT treatment of HeLa cells for 24 hours, a light "smear" band between 100~400bp appeared to indicate the degradation of genomic DNA. The QRT-PCR results showed that R-PE+PDT treatment increased caspase-3 and caspase-10 gene expression and decreased the Bcl-2 gene expression level significantly as the R-PE dose increased, implying that R-PE promoted HeLa cell apoptosis. Compared with untreated S180 tumor-bearing mice, R-PE injection significantly inhibited the growth of S180 in tumor-bearing mice up to 41.3% at a dose of 300mg-kg-1. Simultaneously, the significant increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in serum (p < 0.01) and the decrease of the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in liver suggests that R-PE improved the anti-oxidant ability of the S180 tumor-bearing mice, which may related to its antitumor effect. In addition, the R-PE caused a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the spleen index and thymus index, and a significant increase (p < 0.01) in lymphocyte proliferation, NK cell kill activity and the TNF-α level in the serum of S180 tumor-bearing mice. These results strongly suggest that the antitumor effect of R-PE from Porphyra haitanensis functioned by increasing the immunity and antioxidant ability of S180 tumor-bearing mice, promoting apoptosis by increasing protease gene expression and TNF-α secretion.

Clinical and cardiac imaging characteristics of patients with left ventricular apical hypoplasia / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the clinical and cardiac imaging characteristics of patients with left ventricular apical hypoplasia (LVAH).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From January 2008 to January 2012, seven patients [3 male/4 female, age: 6 - 44 (19.9 ± 14.2) years] with LVAH were included in this cohort. Transthoracic echocardiogram was performed in all patients, cardiovascular MRI was performed in 3 patients and cardiovascular CT in another 2 patients. In addition, one LVAH patient underwent cardiac catheterization and angiography examination.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Four out of 7 patients complained chest discomfort. Precordial murmur was heard in 3 patients. Atrial fibrillation was evidenced by electrocardiogram in 3 patients. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter [(57.9 ± 11.6) mm] increased while left ventricule (LV) longitudinal diameter reduced in all patients. Left ventricular systolic function was reduced in 2 patients and mean LVEF was (47.6 ± 17.2)%. The interventricular septum bulged towards the right, and the ventricular septum thickness was (7.3 ± 1.2) mm. The papillary muscles were dominant on the flattened LV anteroapical region. The right ventricle elongated and wrapped around the hypoplastic left ventricular apex, and the dimension of right ventricle was (19.7 ± 7.6) mm. Focal fat replacement of the left ventricular apical wall was evidenced in 5 patients underwent cardiovascular MRI or CT examinations.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Clinical symptoms are non-specific in LVAH patients. Truncated and spherical LV, abnormal origin of papillary muscles in the flattened LV anterior apex and an elongated right ventricle wrapping around the LV apex as well as focal fat replacement of the left ventricular apical wall are typical imaging characteristics of LVAH.</p>