Current situation and related factors of AIDS discrimination among junior medical students in Jiangxi Province / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the current situation and related factors of AIDS discrimination among junior medical students in Jiangxi Province, so as to provide a reference for effective AIDS anti discrimination intervention measures in medical colleges.@*Methods@#Using a convenience sampling approach, 2 484 medical students were selected from five universities in Jiangxi Province from July to August 2023. An anonymous survey was conducted using a general information questionnaire, a AIDS knowledge questionnaire, and the Chinese version of Zelaya s AIDS Stigma Scale. Independent sample t-tests and analysis of variance were carried out to analyze the level of AIDS discrimination among medical students with different characteristics. Multiple stepwise regression analysis was performed to identify the related factors of AIDS discrimination.@*Results@#The total score of AIDS discrimination among medical students was (2.55±0.67). The dimension with the highest score was fear of contracting the disease (2.89±1.01). The results of the multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the factors related to AIDS discrimination included gender ( β = -0.17 ), grade ( β =-0.08), being an only child or not ( β =-0.04), whether knowing about AIDS knowledge or not ( β =0.22), willingness to use condoms during sexual activity ( β =0.07), willingness to participate in school sexual health knowledge based activities ( β =0.05) and the perceived importance of selfhealth ( β =0.11) ( P <0.05).@*Conclusions@#AIDS discrimination is prevalent among junior medical students in Jiangxi Province. Efforts should be undertaken to enhance humanistic education and relevant knowledge dissemination among junior medical students to reduce the level of AIDS discrimination.

Mechanism study of chlorogenic acid alleviating macrophage activation / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To observe the effects of chlorogenic acid on the activation of macrophage induced by lipopolysaccharide （LPS）， and to explore the role of triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells-2 （TREM2） in the action. METHODS To find a suitable LPS concentration， the cells were cultured with 1， 10 and 100 ng/mL LPS for 24 h. The level of interleukin 6 （IL-6） in the cell culture supernatant and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS） in the cells were detected. To search for a suitable chlorogenic acid concentration， the cells were divided into control group， LPS group and three chlorogenic acid （0.01， 0.1 and 1 μmol/L）+LPS groups. The levels of tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α） and IL-1β in the cell culture supernatant， the protein expressions of iNOS and TREM2 in the cells and cell viability were detected. To observe the effects of TREM2 in chlorogenic acid alleviating macrophage activation， TREM2-small interfering RNA （TREM2-siRNA） was taken to intervene in TREM2 protein expression. The cells were divided into control group， LPS group， chlorogenic acid+LPS group， TREM2-siRNA+chlorogenic acid+LPS group and SC-siRNA+chlorogenic acid+LPS group. After 24 h incubation， the levels of TNF- α and IL-1β in the cell culture supernatant and protein expressions of TREM2， iNOS and nuclear factor κB p65 （NF-κB p65） in the cells were detected. RESULTS 10 ng/mL LPS promoted IL-6 release and increased iNOS protein expression， and 10 ng/mL LPS was taken in the next experiments. Compared with the LPS group， 0.1 μmol/L chlorogenic acid decreased TNF-α jiaji1981@126.com and IL-1β levels， and down-regulated iNOS expression，meanwhile increased TREM2 expression without effect on cell viability， and 0.1 μmol/L chlorogenic acid was taken in the next experiments. Compared with the control group， the protein expressions of iNOS and NF- κB p65 in the LPS group were significantly increased （P＜0.05）； compared with the LPS group， the protein expressions of iNOS and NF- κB p65 in the chlorogenic acid+LPS group were significantly decreased， the protein expressions of TREM2 was significantly increased （P＜ 0.05）； compared with the chlorogenic acid+LPS group， the protein expressions of iNOS and NF-κB p65 of TREM2-siRNA+ chlorogenic acid+LPS group were significantly increased， the protein expressions of TREM2 was significantly decreased （P＜0.05）. TREM2-siRNA could significantly reverse the above effects of chlorogenic acid， while SC-siRNA did not significantly affect the above anti-inflammatory effects of chlorogenic acid. CONCLUSIONS Chlorogenic acid can inhibit the LPS-induced macrophage activation， and its anti-inflammatory may be mediated by TREM2 protein.

Analysis of biliary microbiota in experimental pigs before and after enteral extended biliary stents implantation / 中华消化内镜杂志

Objective:To compare the changes of biliary microbiota after enteral extended biliary stents (EEBS) implantation with that of conventional plastic stents in animal experiment, and to preliminarily investigate its possible mechanism in preventing stents occlusion.Methods:A total of 12 healthy Bama minipigs were randomly assigned to the conventional plastic stent group ( n=6) and the EEBS group ( n=6) using simple random method. The bile samples of all pigs were collected before stents implantation and 4 weeks after stents placement. The biliary microbiota composition and diversity before and after different stents implantation were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and compared. Results:No complications including acute cholangitis, perforation, bleeding, or death occurred in 12 pigs. Eight days after stents implantation, stents were out of bile duct in all pigs under endoscopy, while the bile samples were collected again for analysis. The main composition of biliary microbiota at the phylum level were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidota. Alpha-diversities revealed the Shannon ( P=0.004) and Simpson index ( P=0.008) significantly decreased in the conventional stent group after stents placement, and Bata diversity analysis also showed a significant difference in microbial composition (Anosim: R=0.514 8, P=0.011). There was no significant difference in Observed species index ( P=0.095), Chao1 index ( P=0.136), Shannon index ( P=0.353), Simpson index ( P=0.227) or Bata diversity (Anosim: R=0.059 3, P=0.187) in the EEBS group before and after stents placement. LEfSe algorithm indicated Bacteroides_ fragilis and Proteobacteria- Gammaproteobacteria- Enterobacterales- Enterobacteriaceae- scherichia_ Shigella- Escherichia_ coli significantly increased in the conventional stent group, and Desulfobacterota- Desulfovibrionia- Desulfovibrionales- Desulfovibrionaceae- Bilophila significantly increased in the EEBS group after stents placement. Conclusion:The biliary microbiota change slightly after EEBS implantation in the short-term, and EEBS may prevent duodenobiliary reflux by prolonging the reflux path.

Antimicrobial resistance and genomic characteristics of Salmonella enterica serovar Derby isolates from clinical patients and food sources in Hangzhou / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To analyze the antimicrobial resistance and genomic characteristics of Salmonella enterica serovar Derby strains isolated from human and food sources in Hangzhou. Methods:A total of 60 Salmonella enterica serovar Derby strains isolated in Hangzhou during the period from 2015 to 2020 were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and whole-genome sequencing. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) and the identification of antimicrobial resistance genes were performed using the sequencing data. Phylogenetic tree based on the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites in the 60 genomes from Hangzhou and 379 genomes from public databases was constructed. Results:No significant difference was observed in the drug resistance rates between the clinical strains and food strains in Hangzhou. The multidrug resistance (MDR) rate was 76.7% (46/60). All of the 60 Salmonella Derby strains were positive for the antimicrobial resistance genes aac(6′)- Iaa and fosA7. The 60 strains were subtyped into 46 molecular types by PFGE and 53 molecular types by cgMLST(HC2). Except for one strain belonging to ST3220, the other Salmonella Derby strains were ST40. The phylogenetic analysis showed that some strains isolated in Hangzhou were close to the strains in Southeast Asia, suggesting the possibility of cross-border transmission of ST40 strains, with the main food sources being pork and fish; other strains were close to those circulating in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hubei, Chongqing and other provinces, suggesting the possibility of cross-province transmission of the strains, with the main food sources being pork, beef and chicken. Conclusions:The epidemic of Salmonella Derby in Hangzhou was mainly caused by the spread of ST40 strains and MDR was common. Clinical infections might be closely related to the consumption of pork, beef, chicken and fish. There was the possibility of cross-border transmission of Salmonella Derby between Hangzhou and Southeast Asia and cross-province transmission in China.

Weekly gestational weight gain in women with obesity and its association with risk of macrosomia / 中华围产医学杂志

Objective:To explore the characteristics of weekly gestational weight gain (GWG) in women with obesity and its correlation with the risk of macrosomia.Methods:Clinical data of women with singleton pregnancy and pre-pregnancy body mass index (PPBMI) ≥28 kg/m 2 were retrospectively analyzed, from January 2014 to December 2019, in Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University (Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital). The participants were divided into three groups based on their PPBMI: group A (28-<30 kg/m 2), group B (30-<32 kg/m 2), and group C (≥32 kg/m 2). The study compared the characteristics of GWG among the three groups, explored the correlation between the weekly weight gain during each gestational stage and the risk of macrosomia, and discussed the impacts of the GWG pattern in women with different PPBMI on the risk of macrosomia. Chi-square (or Fisher's exact), Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed for statistical analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the impact of weekly weight gain in specific gestational stages on macrosomia. Results:(1) A total of 2 046 participants were included in the study, with 982 in group A, 588 in group B, and 476 in group C. For all of the 2 046 cases, the median PPBMI was 30.1 kg/m 2 (29.0-31.9 kg/m 2), GWG was 10.5 kg (7.3-14.0 kg), and neonatal birth weight was 3 520 g (3 215-3 816 g) with 60 (2.9%) ≥4 500 g, and the biggest baby weighed 5 580 g. Out of the births analyzed, macrosomia occurred in 318 cases (15.5%). (2) Among the three groups (A, B and C), the differences in maternal age [32.0 years (29.0-35.0 years), 32.0 years (29.0-35.0 years) and 32.0 years (29.0-34.0 years), H=6.58] and women with a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus [0.9% (9/982), 0.3% (2/588) and 1.9% (9/476), χ2=6.61] were statistically significant (all P<0.05). (3) The weekly weight gain in each group exhibited a gradual upward trend before 20-24 weeks, reached a plateau at 24-32 weeks, peaked at 32-36 weeks, and subsequently declined. The weekly weight gain of group A in the pre-pregnancy to 14 weeks [0.14 kg/week (0.00-0.25 kg/week)], 14 to 20 weeks [0.25 kg/week (0.17-0.42 kg/week)], and 20 to 24 weeks [0.38 kg/week (0.25-0.63 kg/week)] were higher than those of group B [0.07 kg/week (－0.03-0.21 kg/week), 0.25 kg/week (0.10-0.42 kg/week), and 0.38 kg/week (0.22-0.60 kg/week)], respectively ( Z value was－3.73,－2.16, and－2.01, all P<0.05). Likewise, the weekly weight gain of group B in the above three stages were all higher than those of group C [0.07 kg/week (－0.10-0.21 kg/week), 0.17 kg/week (0.05-0.33 kg/week), and 0.25 kg/week (0.08-0.50 kg/week)], respectively ( Z value was－2.55,－3.28, and－3.25, all P<0.05). (4) The risk of macrosomia increased with the weekly weight gain in specific gestational stages in different PPBMI groups. In group A, the stages correlated with increased risk were 14-20 weeks [adjusted odd ratio ( aOR)=2.669, 95% CI: 1.378-5.169] and 20-24 weeks ( aOR=1.764, 95% CI: 1.143-2.723), while the stages were 20-24 weeks ( aOR=2.149, 95% CI: 1.156-3.996) and 36 weeks until delivery ( aOR=1.888, 95% CI: 1.268-2.810) in group B, and pre-pregnancy to 14 weeks ( aOR=3.515, 95% CI: 1.158-10.665) and 14-20 weeks ( aOR=3.021, 95% CI: 1.058-8.628) in group C (all P<0.05). The risk of macrosomia increased when the weekly weight gain of both risk-related stages in group A ( aOR=2.255, 95% CI: 1.029-4.940) ≥50th percentile, and group B ( aOR=4.399, 95% CI: 1.017-19.023) ≥75th percentile, and for group C ( aOR=3.404, 95% CI: 1.004-11.543) when the weekly weight gain above 25th percentile (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Weekly GWG demonstrates an observable gradual acceleration pattern in women with obesity. Therefore, clinical attention should be directed towards monitoring fluctuations in the weekly weight gain in this population, as excessive weekly weight gain before 24 gestational weeks is associated with an elevated risk of macrosomia.

Expression, purification, and characterization of the histidine kinase CarS from Fusobacterium nucleatum / 生物工程学报

Fusobacterium nucleatum is an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium that can be enriched in colorectal cancer tissues, affecting multiple stages of colorectal cancer development. The two-component system plays an important role in the regulation and expression of genes related to pathogenic resistance and pathogenicity. In this paper, we focused on the CarRS two-component system of F. nucleatum, and the histidine kinase protein CarS was recombinantly expressed and characterized. Several online software such as SMART, CCTOP and AlphaFold2 were used to predict the secondary and tertiary structure of the CarS protein. The results showed that CarS is a membrane protein with two transmembrane helices and contains 9 α-helices and 12 β-folds. CarS protein is composed of two domains, one is the N-terminal transmembrane domain (amino acids 1-170), the other is the C-terminal intracellular domain. The latter is composed of a signal receiving domain (histidine kinases, adenylyl cyclases, methyl-accepting proteins, prokaryotic signaling proteins, HAMP), a phosphate receptor domain (histidine kinase domain, HisKA), and a histidine kinase catalytic domain (histidine kinase-like ATPase catalytic domain, HATPase_c). Since the full-length CarS protein could not be expressed in host cells, a fusion expression vector pET-28a(+)-MBP-TEV-CarScyto was constructed based on the characteristics of secondary and tertiary structures, and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21-Codonplus(DE3)RIL. CarScyto-MBP protein was purified by affinity chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography with a final concentration of 20 mg/ml. CarScyto-MBP protein showed both protein kinase and phosphotransferase activities, and the MBP tag had no effect on the function of CarScyto protein. The above results provide a basis for in-depth analysis of the biological function of the CarRS two-component system in F. nucleatum.

Effect of Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring Plus Additional Support on Blood Pressure Control: A Randomized Clinical Trial / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

OBJECTIVE@#Current clinical evidence on the effects of home blood pressure telemonitoring (HBPT) on improving blood pressure control comes entirely from developed countries. Thus, we performed this randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether HBPT plus support (patient education and clinician remote hypertension management) improves blood pressure control more than usual care (UC) in the Chinese population.@*METHODS@#This single-center, randomized controlled study was conducted in Beijing, China. Patients aged 30-75 years were eligible for enrolment if they had blood pressure [systolic (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg; or SBP ≥ 130 mmHg and/or DBP ≥ 80 mmHg with diabetes]. We recruited 190 patients randomized to either the HBPT or the UC groups for 12 weeks. The primary endpoints were blood pressure reduction and the proportion of patients achieving the target blood pressure.@*RESULTS@#Totally, 172 patients completed the study, the HBPT plus support group ( n = 84), and the UC group ( n = 88). Patients in the plus support group showed a greater reduction in mean ambulatory blood pressure than those in the UC group. The plus support group had a significantly higher proportion of patients who achieved the target blood pressure and maintained a dipper blood pressure pattern at the 12th week of follow-up. Additionally, the patients in the plus support group showed lower blood pressure variability and higher drug adherence than those in the UC group.@*CONCLUSION@#HBPT plus additional support results in greater blood pressure reduction, better blood pressure control, a higher proportion of dipper blood pressure patterns, lower blood pressure variability, and higher drug adherence than UC. The development of telemedicine may be the cornerstone of hypertension management in primary care.

Clinical characteristics of patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer with different body mass index / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of thyroid nodules, the clinical characteristics and efficacy evaluation of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), respectively.Methods:Clinical data of 1 375 healthy people (1 031 males, 344 females, age: (43.5±10.6) years) who underwent routine physical examination (PE) and 1 450 patients (490 males, 960 females, age: (44.3±12.4) years) with medium-high risk DTC in Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from April 2016 to July 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. PE and DTC patients were classified into underweight group (BMI<18.5 kg/m 2), normal weight group (18.5≤BMI<24.0 kg/m 2), overweight group (24.0≤BMI<28.0 kg/m 2) and obesity group (BMI≥28.0 kg/m 2) respectively. χ2 test was employed to analyze the relation between BMI and thyroid nodules (with/without), BMI and clinical characteristics and efficacy evaluation of DTC, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors for the occurrence of thyroid nodules and the aggressiveness of DTC. Results:Among PE, there were 779 cases with nodules, and 596 cases without nodules. Comparing with those without nodules, more overweight and obese were found in PE cases with nodules (42.1%(328/779) vs 37.2%(222/596), 24.5%(191/779) vs 20.5%(122/596); χ2=13.42, P=0.004). Higher risk of developing thyroid nodules was related with older age and lower thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level (odds ratio ( OR): 1.044, 0.919, 95% CI: 1.029-1.060, 0.845-0.999; P<0.001, P=0.046). People with high-risk nodules were more likely to be obese than those with intermediate and lower risk nodules (5/15 vs 24.3% (186/764); χ2=21.11, P<0.001). Among 1 450 DTC patients, comparing with patients with normal weight, patients in the overweight and obesity groups were more likely to have central regional lymph node metastasis ( OR: 1.418, 1.427, 95% CI: 1.075-1.870, 1.044-1.952; P values: 0.013, 0.026), and patients in obese group were with greater risk of lesions being bilateral ( OR=0.696, 95% CI: 0.519-0.934; P=0.016). BMI was not related with the efficacy evaluation of DTC ( χ2=9.13, P=0.425). Conclusions:The incidence of thyroid nodules in people with high BMI is higher. DTC patients with high BMI may have more aggressive incidence. But BMI has no correlation with the efficacy evaluation of DTC patients after treatment.

Propensity score matching study on the relationship between 131I treatment and male prognosis in postoperative differentiated thyroid cancer patients / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To study whether male was the risk factor for prognosis of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after 131I treatment based on propensity score matching (PSM) method. Methods:From April 2016 to January 2021, 1 677 patients (age: 11-84 (43.9±12.5) years) with DTC who underwent total thyroidectomy and received 131I treatment in Tianjin Medical University General Hospital were retrospectively enrolled and patients were divided into male group ( n=546) and female group ( n=1 131). The evaluation results of patients were divided into excellent response (ER), indeterminate response (IDR), biochemical incomplete response (BIR) and structural incomplete response (SIR). Among them, ER and IDR were divided into good prognosis group, and BIR and SIR were divided into poor prognosis group. The PSM method was adopted to process all data to reduce the influence of data bias and confounding variables. χ2 test was used for data analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors affecting prognosis, and ROC curve was used to analyze the relationship between stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) level and poor prognosis. Results:Before PSM, the proportion of male patients with poor prognosis was significantly higher than that of female patients (21.2%(116/546) vs 14.0%(158/1 131); χ2=17.53, P=0.001). After PSM, there was no difference in the proportion of poor prognosis between male and female groups (19.9%(107/537) vs 15.6%(84/537); χ2=5.43, P=0.143). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male (odds radio ( OR)=1.439 (95% CI: 1.016-2.038), P=0.040), high T stage(T3+ T4 stage)( OR=1.816 (95% CI: 1.273-2.590), P=0.001), N1b stage ( OR=1.766 (95% CI: 1.233-2.530), P=0.002), M1 stage ( OR=9.833 (95% CI: 3.190-30.309), P<0.001) and sTg level ( OR=1.035 (95% CI: 1.029-1.042), P<0.001) were risk factors for poor prognosis before PSM, while high T stage (T3+ T4 stage)( OR=1.870 (95% CI: 1.212-2.886), P=0.005), M1 stage ( OR=8.993 (95% CI: 2.434-33.225), P=0.001), sTg level ( OR=1.040 (95% CI: 1.030-1.049), P<0.001) were still risk factors, and N1b stage ( OR=1.459 (95% CI: 0.938-2.270), P=0.094), male ( OR=1.383 (95% CI: 0.912-2.096), P=0.127) were no longer risk factors for poor prognosis after PSM. ROC curve analysis showed that the cut-off value of sTg was 10.25 μg/L, with the sensitivity of 81.0%(222/274) and the specificity of 84.2%(1 181/1 403). Conclusions:After reduction of selection bias by PSM, male is no longer a risk factor for prognosis after 131I treatment of DTC. In addition, high T stage(T3+ T4 stage), M1 stage and sTg≥10.25 μg/L were risk factors for poor prognosis.

The application of improved team-based learning based on the training goal of excellent doctors in ophthalmology internship class / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective:To evaluate the effect of the improved team-based learning (TBL) teaching method in the undergraduate probation course of ophthalmology based on the goal of cultivating excellent doctors.Methods:The undergraduates of clinical medicine were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The control group ( n=50) was given conventional ophthalmology probation teaching, while the experimental group ( n=50) was given ophthalmology probation teaching of improved TBL teaching method. The theoretical examination performance and skill assessment results of students in the two groups were compared, and the subjective evaluation of the students on the teaching was also compared. SPSS 23.0 was used to conduct t-test and Wilcoxon's rank sum test. Results:The theoretical examination performance of experimental group (29.68±4.52) was better than that of control group (27.84±4.33), with significant differences ( P<0.05); the skill assessment results of experimental group (32.88±5.05) were also better than those of the control group (30.88±6.99), with significant differences ( P<0.05); the subjective evaluation of teaching effect in each item of experimental group was better than that of control group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The improved TBL teaching method can not only improve students' theoretical knowledge and experimental skills, but also improve students' self-study and teamwork ability, which will provide a feasible educational reform plan for achieving the goal of cultivating excellent doctors.

Application of PBL combined with CBL and CP teaching methods in standardized residency training in the department of hepatobiliary surgery / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective:To analyze the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) combined with case-based learning (CBL) and clinical pathway (CP) teaching methods in standardized residency training in department of hepatobiliary surgery.Methods:A total of 64 residents who received the standardized residency training in the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery in Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital from July 2018 to July 2019 were selected and divided into the observation group and the control group. The control group used PBL + CBL teaching methods, while the observation group adopted PBL + CBL + CP teaching methods. The after-department examination scores and the teaching cognition scores of the two groups were compared. SPSS 15.0 was used for t-test and Chi-square test. Results:The after-department examination scores of the two groups were compared. Compared with the control group, the examination scores of professional theories, case analysis and operation skills in the observation group were significantly higher, and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 6.98, 7.85, 7.01, P < 0.05). In terms of recognition of teaching, the observation group was significantly higher than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 9.14, P < 0.05). Conclusion:The PBL + CBL + CP teaching is conducive to the comprehensive and systematic mastery of knowledge and the rapid establishment of scientific clinical thinking. It has a strong scientific and systematic nature and is worthy of promotion.

Cloning and functional verification of PhAEP gene, a key enzyme for biosynthesis of heterophyllin A in Pseudostellaria heterophylla / 中国中药杂志

This paper aimed to study the role of asparagine endopeptidase(AEP) gene in the biosynthesis mechanism of cyclic peptide compounds in Pseudostellaria heterophylla. The transcriptome database of P. heterophylla was systematically mined and screened, and an AEP gene, tentatively named PhAEP, was successfully cloned. The heterologous function verification by Nicotiana benthamiana showed that the expression of the gene played a role in the biosynthesis of heterophyllin A in P. heterophylla. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the cDNA of PhAEP was 1 488 bp in length, encoding 495 amino acids with a molecular weight of 54.72 kDa. The phylogenetic tree showed that the amino acid sequence encoded by PhAEP was highly similar to that of Butelase-1 in Clitoria ternatea, reaching 80%. The sequence homology and cyclase active site analysis revealed that the PhAEP enzyme may specifically hydrolyse the C-terminal Asn/Asp(Asx) site of the core peptide in the HA linear precursor peptide of P. heterophylla, thereby participating in the ring formation of the linear precursor peptide. The results of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR) showed that the expression level of PhAEP was the highest in fruits, followed by in roots, and the lowest in leaves. The heterophyllin A of P. heterophylla was detected in N. benthamiana that co-expressed PrePhHA and PhAEP genes instantaneously. In this study, the PhAEP gene, a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of heterophyllin A in P. heterophylla, has been successfully cloned, which lays a foundation for further analysis of the molecular mechanism of PhAEP enzyme in the biosynthesis of heterophyllin A in P. heterophylla and has important significance for the study of synthetic biology of cyclic peptide compounds in P. heterophylla.

Characteristics of the chloroplast genome of Dracaena marginata and phylogenetic analysis / 生物工程学报

Dracaena marginata is a widely cultivated horticultural plant in the world, which has high ornamental and medicinal value. In this study, the whole genome of leaves from D. marginata was sequenced by Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform. The chloroplast genome were assembled for functional annotation, sequence characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that the chloroplast genome of D. marginata composed of four regions with a size of 154 926 bp, which was the smallest chloroplast genome reported for Dracaena species to date. A total of 132 genes were identified, including 86 coding genes, 38 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Codon bias analysis found that the codon usage bias was weak and there was a bias for using A/U base endings. 46 simple sequence repeat and 54 repeats loci were detected in the chloroplast genome, with the maximum detection rate in the large single copy region and inverted repeat region, respectively. The inverted repeats boundaries of D. marginata and Dracaena were highly conserved, whereas gene location differences occurred. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that D. serrulata and D. cinnabari form a monophyletic clade, which was the closest relationship and conformed to the morphological classification characteristics. The analysis of the chloroplast genome of D. marginata provides important data basis for species identification, genetic diversity and chloroplast genome engineering of Dracaena.

Protective effect and mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica sinensis compatibility against triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity by regulating Keap1/Nrf2/PGC-1α / 中国中药杂志

This paper aims to investigate the protective effect and mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica sinensis before and after compatibility against triptolide(TP)-induced hepatotoxicity. The experiment was divided into a blank group, model group, Astragalus membranaceus group, Angelica sinensis group, and compatibility groups with Astragalus membranaceus/Angelica sinensis ratio of 1∶1, 2∶1, and 5∶1. TP-induced hepatotoxicity model was established, and corresponding drug intervention was carried out. The levels of alanine transaminase(ALT), aspartate transaminase(AST), and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) in serum were detected. Pathological injuries of livers were detected by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The levels of malondialdehyde(MDA), superoxide dismutase(SOD), glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px), and reduced glutathione(GSH) in the liver were measured. Wes-tern blot method was used to detect the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1(Keap1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, coactivator-1 alpha(PGC-1α), heme oxygenase-1(HO-1), and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1(NQO1) in livers. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression of Nrf2 and PGC-1α in livers. The results indicated that Astragalus membranaceus/Angelica sinensis ratio of 2∶1 and 5∶1 could significantly reduce the levels of serum AST, ALT, and ALP, improve the pathological damage of liver tissue, increase the levels of GSH and GSH-Px, and reduce the content of MDA in liver tissue. Astragalus membranaceus/Angelica sinensis ratio of 1∶1 and 2∶1 could significantly improve the level of SOD. Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica sinensis before and after compatibility significantly increased the protein expression of HO-1 and NQO1, improved the protein expression of Nrf2 and PGC-1α, and decreased the protein expression of Keap1 in liver tissue. The above results confirmed that the compatibility of Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica sinensis had antioxidant effects by re-gulating Keap1/Nrf2/PGC-1α, and the Astragalus membranaceus/Angelica sinensis ratio of 2∶1 and 5∶1 had stronger antioxidant effect and significantly reduced TP-induced hepatoto-xicity.

Efficacy and safety of Tianmeng Oral Liquid in the treatment of hyperprolactinemia caused by antipsychotics in female patients with schizophrenia： a Meta-analysis / 四川精神卫生

ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tianmeng Oral Liquid in the treatment of hyperprolactinemia caused by antipsychotics in female patients with schizophrenia， and to provide references for intervention of antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia patients. MethodsEnglish databases （PubMed， Cochrane Library， PsycINFO and Embase） and Chinese databases （CNKI and Wanfang） were systematically searched， with a search time frame of the period from database creation to September 16， 2022. Randomized controlled studies （RCTs） on adjunctive Tianmeng Oral Liquid in the treatment of hyperprolactinemia caused by antipsychotics in female patients with schizophrenia were included. Three investigators independently screened the literatures and extracted data according to PICOS principles and evaluated the quality of including literatures， and the Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3. ResultsA total of 3 articles including 256 female schizophrenic patients with hyperprolactinemia were included. Meta-analysis results showed that at the treatment endpoint， the improvement of hyperprolactinemia symptoms reported a significant superiority of the intervention group than the control group （RR=1.73， 95% CI： 1.07~2.79， P˂0.05）. Similarly， the significant superiority of the intervention group than the control group were also found in reducing serum prolactin levels （WMD=-55.17， 95% CI： -68.16~-42.18， P<0.01） and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale （PANSS） total scores were lower in the intervention group than in the control group （WMD=-7.36， 95% CI： -8.94~-5.77， P<0.01）. ConclusionTianmeng Oral Liquid may help improve clinical efficacy and reduce serum prolactin levels in female schizophrenia patients with hyperprolactinemia. It may improve psychiatric symptoms in female patients with schizophrenia.

The relationship between genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 and the efficacy of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy in children / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To investigate the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) and the efficacy of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) eradication therapy in children. Methods: The retrospective cohort study was conducted on 125 children with gastroscopy and positive rapid urease test (RUT) from September 2016 to December 2018 who presented to the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine due to gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, acid reflux, heartburn, chest pain, vomiting blood and melena. Hp culture and drug susceptibility test were carried out with gastric antrum mucosa before treatment. All the patients completed 2 weeks of standardized Hp eradication therapy and had 13C urea breath test 1 month after that, which was used to evaluate the curative effect. The DNA of gastric mucosa after RUT was analyzed and CYP2C19 gene polymorphism was detected. Children were grouped according to metabolic type. Combined with the results of Hp culture and drug susceptibility, the relationship between CYP2C19 gene polymorphism and the efficacy of Hp eradicative treatment was analyzed in children. Chi square test was used for row and column variables, and Fisher exact test was used for comparison between groups. Results: One hundred and twenty five children were enrolled in the study, of whom 76 were males and 49 females. The genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 in these children found poor metabolizer (PM) of 30.4% (38/125), intermediate metabolizer (IM) of 20.8% (26/125), normal metabolizer (NM) of 47.2% (59/125), rapid metabolizer (RM) of 1.6% (2/125), and ultrarapid metabolizer (UM) of 0. There were statistically significant in positive rate of Hp culture among these groups (χ2=124.00, P<0.001). In addition, the successful rates of Hp eradication in PM, IM, NM and RM genotypes were 84.2% (32/38), 53.8% (14/26), 67.8% (40/59), and 0, respectively, with significant differences (χ2=11.35, P=0.010); those in IM genotype was significantly lower than that in PM genotype (P=0.011). With the same standard triple Hp eradicative regimen, the successful rate of Hp eradication for IM type was 8/19, which was lower than that of PM (80.0%, 24/30) and NM type (77.3%, 34/44) (P=0.007 and 0.007, respectively). There was a significant difference in the efficacy of Hp eradication treatment among different genotypes (χ2=9.72, P=0.008). According to the clarithromycin susceptibility result, the successful rate of Hp eradication treatment for IM genotype was 4/15 in the sensitive group and 4/4 in the drug-resistant group (χ2=6.97, P=0.018). Conclusions: The genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 in children is closely related to the efficacy of Hp eradication treatment. PM has a higher successful rate of eradication treatment than the other genotypes.

Characteristics of Silent Alpha Thalassemia Gene in Child-Bearing Adults in Guangdong / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate characteristics of silent alpha thalassemia genes in child-bearing adults in Guangdong, in order to provide data for the prevention and control of hemoglobin H disease.@*METHODS@#A total of 8 752 cases were collected from January 2016 to December 2020. Gap-PCR was used to detect the deletional of α-thalassemia mutations (-α3.7, -α4.2), while PCR reverse dot blot hybridization assay (RDB) was used to detect the non-deletional α-thalassemia mutations (Hb CS, Hb QS and Hb Westmead).@*RESULTS@#Among 8 752 subjects, 717 cases of silent α-thalassemia were detected, the detection rate was 8.19%, including 555 cases of deletional α-thalassemia (77.41%) and 162 cases of non-deletional α-thalassemia 22.59%. The mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of deletional silent α-thalassemia was (82.09±4.10) fl, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) was (27.03±1.37) pg, which both were over the diagnostic cut-off value for thalassemia. The MCV of non-deletional silent α-thalassemia was (81.07±4.93) fl, and MCH was (26.77±2.20) pg. According to the diagnostic criteria, if using MCV<82 fl or (and) MCH<27 pg as a positive criteria for screening thalassemia in the childbearing age, the screening sensitivity was 53.14% and different in different genotype, among which ααQS/αα was 100%, -α3.7/αα, -α4.2/αα, ααCS/αα and ααWS/αα was 62.15%, 63.41%, 44.83% and 39.62%, respectively. Namely, nearly half the carriers of such mutations might have escaped detection as a result of their screening strategy.@*CONCLUSION@#When a couple is preparing for pregnancy, if one of them has been determined to be mild α-thalassemia or hemoglobin H disease, other half is necessary to carry out silent α thalassemia detection to prevent the birth of children with hemoglobin H disease even if MCV>82 fl and MCH>27 pg.

The application of PCR-SSP with the serology in identification and genotyping of ABO ambiguous blood group / 细胞与分子免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of blood group serology and polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) on identification and genotyping of ambiguous ABO blood group. Methods Eighty suspicious ABO blood group samples were identified by serology and polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP). The final blood group type and the strategy of the transfusion of each case were determined according to the results of serology and PCR-SSP. Results 40 cases were confirmed to be subtypes, and the remaining 40 cases were normal types with weakened antigens or missing antibodies due to other reasons. The results of molecular genetic blood group typing based on PCR-SSP were 41 cases of subtypes (There were 3 discrepancies between two methods: one was Ael identified by serological methods, while its gene type was O2O2; one was common type O, while its gene type was BO1; one was type A, while its gene type was AB.) and 39 cases of normal ones. Conclusion Genotyping technology combined with serological typing has an important significance in identification of ABO blood groups.

Drug resistance and genomic characteristics of Salmonella enterica serovar London from clinical and food sources in Hangzhou City from 2017 to 2021 / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective: To analyze the drug resistance and genomic characteristics of Salmonella enterica serovar London isolated from clinical and food sources in Hangzhou City from 2017 to 2021. Methods: A total of 91 Salmonella enterica serovar London strains isolated from Hangzhou City from 2017 to 2021 were analyzed for drug susceptibility, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and whole genome sequencing. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) and detection of drug resistance genes were performed by using the sequencing data. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted to compare the 91 genomes from Hangzhou City with 347 genomes from public databases. Results: No significant difference in the drug resistance rate was observed between clinical strains and food strains to 18 drugs in Hangzhou City(all P>0.05), and the multidrug resistance (MDR) rate was 75.8% (69/91). Most strains were resistant to 7 drug classes simultaneously. One strain was resistant to Polymyxin E as well as positive for mcr-1.1, and 50.5% (46/91) of the strains were resistant to Azithromycin and were positive for mph(A). All 91 Salmonella enterica serovar London strains were ST155, which were subdivided into 44 molecular types by PFGE and 82 types by cgMLST. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most strains from Hangzhou City (83/91) were clustered together, and a small number of human isolates from Europe, North America and pork isolates from Hubei and Shenzhen were mixed in the cluster. Other strains from Hangzhou City (8/91) were closely related to strains from Europe, America and Southeast Asia. Strains isolated from pork were the most closely related to clinical strains. Conclusion: The epidemic of Salmonella enterica serovar London in Hangzhou City is mainly caused by the spread of ST155 strains, which is mainly transmitted locally. At the same time, cross-region transmission to Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, and other provinces and cities in China may also occur. There is no significant difference in the drug resistance rate between clinical strains and food strains, and a high level of MDR is found in the strains. Clinical infection of Salmonella enterica serovar London may be closely related to pork consumption in Hangzhou City.