Impairment of Autophagic Flux After Hypobaric Hypoxia Potentiates Oxidative Stress and Cognitive Function Disturbances in Mice / 神经科学通报·英文版

Acute hypobaric hypoxic brain damage is a potentially fatal high-altitude sickness. Autophagy plays a critical role in ischemic brain injury, but its role in hypobaric hypoxia (HH) remains unknown. Here we used an HH chamber to demonstrate that acute HH exposure impairs autophagic activity in both the early and late stages of the mouse brain, and is partially responsible for HH-induced oxidative stress, neuronal loss, and brain damage. The autophagic agonist rapamycin only promotes the initiation of autophagy. By proteome analysis, a screen showed that protein dynamin2 (DNM2) potentially regulates autophagic flux. Overexpression of DNM2 significantly increased the formation of autolysosomes, thus maintaining autophagic flux in combination with rapamycin. Furthermore, the enhancement of autophagic activity attenuated oxidative stress and neurological deficits after HH exposure. These results contribute to evidence supporting the conclusion that DNM2-mediated autophagic flux represents a new therapeutic target in HH-induced brain damage.

Clinical Characteristics of Aggressive NK-Cell Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore and summarize the clinical characteristics and treatment of aggressive NK-cell leukemia (ANKL), and provide new insights for clinical diagnosis and treatment of this disease.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 7 patients with ANKL admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College from March 2014 to July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, and their clinical characteristics, laboratory and imaging results, treatment and outcomes were analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Among the 7 patients, 5 were males and 2 were females, with a median age of 47 (33-69) years old. The morphology of bone marrow cells in 7 patients showed similar large granular lymphocytes. Immunophenotyping revealed abnormal NK cells in 5 cases. By the end of follow-up, 6 cases died and 1 case survived, with a median survival time of 76.9 (4-347) days.@*CONCLUSION@#ANKL is a rare disease with short course and poor prognosis. If combined with hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS), the prognosis is even worse. There is no unified treatment method at present, and the use of PD-1 inhibitors may prolong the survival in some patients.

Analysis of genes related to female bone peak and osteoporosis based on bioinformatics / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To explore and verify the genes related to female peak bone mass(PBM) and osteoporosis (OP) based on bioinformatics.@*METHODS@#Using GEO data, DNA microarray technology to conduct genome-wide analysis of adult female monocytes with high and low PBM. Cluster analysis, GO enrichment and KEGG analysis were used to analyze the differential genes, and the interaction network of differential genes was further analyzed. OP rat model was established and femur neck tissue staining was performed to further verify the expression of differential genes.@*RESULTS@#A total of 283 genes were obtained by differential gene screening. Compared with the high PBM samples, 135 genes were up-regulated and 148 genes were down-regulated in the low PBM samples. A total of 7 pathways and 12 differential genes were enriched, and there were differences in the expression of several genes involved in mineral absorption and transport, cellular immunity and other aspects. Among them, voltage-gated Ca2+ channel 1.3(CaV1.3) encoded by CACNA1D gene was significantly enhanced in the femoral neck tissue of OP rat model.@*CONCLUSION@#The above results suggest that the difference in the expression level of CaV1.3 gene may lead to the occurrence of OP in women with low PBM, which provides us with a potential target for the prevention and treatment of OP.

Investigation on biological subtypes of depression based on diffusion tensor imaging / 四川精神卫生

BackgroundBeing complex and highly heterogeneous with regard to the etiology and clinical manifestations of depression， neuroimaging studies make a breakthrough for exploring the biological subtypes of depression， while the current data-driven approach for the identification of subtyping depression using structural magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） data is insufficient. ObjectiveTo explore the biological subtypes of depression using diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and machine learning methods. MethodsA total of 127 patients with depression who attended Beijing Anding Hospital from September 2017 to August 2021 and met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders， fourth edition （DSM-IV） diagnostic criteria were included， and another 80 healthy individuals matched for gender and age were recruited through advertisements in surrounding communities during the same period. DTI findings， demographic characteristics and clinical data were collected from all participants. Tract-based spatial statistics （TBSS） and the Johns Hopkins University （JHU） white matter probability maps were used to extract fractional anisotropy （FA） values of white matter tracts. A semi-supervised machine learning technique was used to identify the subtypes， and the FA values for whole brain white matter of patients and controls were compared. ResultsPatients with depression were classified into two biological subtypes. FA values in multiple tracts including corpus callosum and corona radiata of subtype I patients were smaller than those of healthy controls （P<0.01， FDR corrected）， and FA values in middle cerebellar peduncle， left superior cerebellar peduncle and left cerebral peduncle of subtype II patients were larger than those of healthy controls （P<0.01， FDR-corrected）. Baseline Hamilton Depression Scale-17 item （HAMD-17） score yielded no statistical difference between subtype I and subtype II patients （P>0.05）， while subtype I patients scored lower on HAMD-17 than subtype II patients after 12 weeks of treatment （t=2.410， P<0.05）. ConclusionDepression patients exhibit two biological subtypes with distinct patterns of white matter damage. Furthermore， the subtypes respond differently to the medication treatment. ［Funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China （number， 2016YFC1307200）， the Scientific Research and Cultivation Program of Beijing Municipal Hospitals （number，PX2023066）， Beijing Anding Hospital， Capital Medical University （number，YJ201904， YJ201911）； www.chictr.org.cn number： ChiCTR-OOC-17012566］

Annual progress of transcatheter mitral valve intervention in 2022 / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Mitral regurgitation is the most common heart valvular disease at present. In the past, mitral regurgitation was mainly treated by surgical mitral valve repair or replacement. However, with the progress of transcatheter interventional techniques and instruments in recent years, transcatheter mitral valve interventional therapy has gradually shown its advantages and benefited patients. The purpose of this article is to review the progress of transcatheter mitral valve intervention in this year, and to provide prospects for the future of transcatheter mitral valve treatment.

Etiological diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective:To explore the etiological diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis.Methods:The study was a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of patients with PD-related peritonitis who were treated and underwent microbial cultivation and mNGS test at the same time from June 2020 to July 2021 in the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University were analyzed. The positive rate, detection time and consistency between mNGS test and traditional microbial culture were compared.Results:A total of 18 patients with age of (50.4±15.4) years old and median dialysis time of 34.0 (12.4, 62.0) months were enrolled in the study, including 11 males and 7 females. Pathogenic microorganisms were isolated in 17 patients by mNGS test, with a positive rate of 17/18, which was higher than 13/18 of microbial culture, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P=0.219). Both mNGS test and microbial culture isolated positive pathogenic bacteria in 12 patients, and mNGS test isolated the same types of pathogenic bacteria as microbial cultivation did in 11 patients. In five patients with negative microbial culture, mNGS test also isolated pathogenic microorganisms, including 3 cases of Staphylococcus epidermidis, 1 case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 1 case of Ureaplasma urealyticum. In 1 patient, microbial culture isolated pathogenic bacteria ( Escherichia coli) whereas mNGS test did not. The detection time of mNGS was 25.0 (24.0, 27.0) h, which was significantly shorter than 89.0 (72.8, 122.0) h of microbial culture ( Z=3.726, P<0.001). Conclusions:mNGS test can improve the detection rate of pathogenic microorganisms in PD-related peritonitis and greatly shorten the detection time, and has good consistency with microbial culture. mNGS may provide a new approach for pathogen identification of PD-related peritonitis, especially refractory peritonitis.

Risk factors analysis and prediction model establishment of anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis with rapid progression of interstitial lung disease / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To analyze the Risk factors for rapid progression of inpatients with anti-melanoma differentiation associated gene5 (MDA5) antibody-positive dermamyositis (DM) complicated with interstitial lung disease (ILD), and construct a clinical predictive model.Methods:A total of 63 hospitalized patients with anti MDA5 positive DM combined with ILD (MDA5+ DM-ILD) from January 1, 2016 to May 30, 2022 at the Second Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Military Medical University were included in the study. They were divided into a control group (DM-ILD) and an observation group (DM-RPPILD) based on whether they had rapidly progressing interstitial lung disease (RPILD). Retrospective collection and organization of clinical case data from patients were conducted, and binary logistic regression was used to summarize the risk factors of DM-RPILD. R software was used to construct a clinical prediction model for RPILD occurrence using training set data, and validation set data was used to verify the predictive ability of the model.Results:The proportion of patients with SpO 2<90% at the initial diagnosis of ILD, the titers of anti MDA5 antibodies, immunoglobulin M (IgM), serum ferritin (FER) levels, and positive rates of anti Ro52 antibodies in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, the lymphocyte (LYM) count level was lower than that of the control group (all P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed SpO 2<90% at the initial diagnosis of ILD, FER level, LYM count, and anti Ro52 antibody were the influencing factors for the occurrence of RPILD (all P<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the training set prediction model for predicting resistance to MDA5+ DM-RPILD was 0.922(95% CI: 0.887-0.957), with a sensitivity of 95.7% and a specificity of 72.5%; In the validation set, the prediction model predicted an AUC of 0.939(95% CI: 0.904-0.974) for resistance to MDA5+ DM-RPILD, with a sensitivity of 90.0% and a specificity of 88.9%; The calibration curves of the training and validation sets indicated that the predictive model had good calibration ability. Conclusions:SpO 2<90% at the initial diagnosis of ILD, FER levels increase, LYM count levels decrease, and anti Ro52 antibody positivity are risk factors for RPILD. The constructed clinical model has good predictive ability and has certain guiding significance for clinical work.

Reliability and validity of Chinese version of the 12-item immediate mood scale in patients with depression / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of 12-item immediate mood scale(IMS-12) in patients with depression.Methods:From January to June 2018, a total of 459 patients with depression recruited from an outpatient clinic by convenient sampling approach.All the subjects were assessed by the Chinese version of the IMS-12, and 43 of them were assessed again at the end of the first week.The 16-item quick inventory of depressive symptomatology (QIDS-SR16), and the generalized anxiety disorder scale-7(GAD-7) were used as validity indicator.The factor structure of the scale was evaluated by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.The internal consistency of the Chinese version of the IMS-12 scale was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate test-retest reliability.Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to evaluate calibration validity.The softwares of SAS 9.4 and Mplus 8.5 were used for statistical analysis.Results:The exploratory factor analysis indicated that the fitting result of the two-factor model was good(including depression and anxiety factors). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the factor model fit well and met the reference standard ( χ2/ df=2.82, CFI=0.936, TLI=0.920, RMSEA=0.088). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the Chinese version of the IMS-12 was 0.95, and the ICC for test-retest reliability was 0.85.The correlation coefficients of the total IMS-12 score with the QIDS-SR16 score and with the GAD-7 score were 0.69 and 0.70, respectively. Conclusion:The Chinese version of the IMS-12 has good reliability and validity and is suitable for the clinical assessment of depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with depression.

Chronic kidney disease and cerebral microbleeds / 国际脑血管病杂志

Because the brain and kidneys share a common basis for small vessel lesions, the related research on cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is gradually increasing. The development of neuroimaging technology has significantly increased the detection rate of CMBs, but there is still controversy over whether CKD will increase the incidence of CMBs. This article reviews the relationship between CKD and CMBs, pathogenesis, biomarkers, and treatment.

Clinical Anslysis of Primary Adrenal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of one patient with primary adrenal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (PANKTCL), and to strengthen the understanding of this rare type of lymphoma.@*METHODS@#The clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment process, and prognosis of the patient admitted in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Combined with pathology, imaging, bone marrow examination， etc, the patient was diagnosed with PANKTCL (CA stage, stage II; PINK-E score 3, high-risk group). Six cycles of "P-GemOx+VP-16" regimen（gemcitabine 1 g/m2 d1 + oxaliplatin 100 mg/m2 d 1 + etoposide 60 mg/m2 d 2-4 + polyethylene glycol conjugated asparaginase 3 750 IU d 5） was performed, and complete response was assessed in 4 cycles. Maintenance therapy with sintilimab was administered after the completion of chemotherapy. Eight months after the complete response, the patient experienced disease recurrence and underwent a total of four courses of chemotherapy, during which hemophagocytic syndrome occurred. The patient died of disease progression 1 month later.@*CONCLUSION@#PANKTCL is rare, relapses easily, and has a worse prognosis. The choice of the "P-GemOx+VP-16" regimen combined with sintilimab help to improve the survival prognosis of patient with non-upper aerodigestive tract natural killer /T-cell lymphoma.

Application of cocrystal separation technology in the separation and purification of genistein-puerarin-daidzein ternary system / 药学学报

Cocrystal separation technology is a technology that utilizes coformers to selectively form cocrystals with target compounds and separate them from mixed systems. Our study used puerarin (PUE), daidzein (DDZ), and genistein (GEN) as model drugs, which have similar structures and are the main isoflavones in Pueraria lobata root. The separation and purification processes in the modern traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) of these three components use conventional column chromatography, recrystallization, and other technologies, which have the issues of lengthy separation cycles, high solvent consumption, and inefficient preparation. Different with existing separation technology, our team used the early-found cocrystal separation method to design a step-by-step extraction and separation experiment of GEN-PUE-DDZ ternary mixture. Caffeine and L-proline were added to the mixed system in turn, GEN-caffeine cocrystal and PUE-proline cocrystal were prepared by suspension method. The cocrystals precipitated out of the solution. The purities of the GEN-caffeine cocrystal and the PUE-proline cocrystal could achieve 93% (the purity of GEN) and 99% (the purity of PUE). Besides, the purity of DDZ could also be increased by 6.76 times. This study proposed a simple operating, low cost and wide application range separation method different from the traditional separation method and realized the separation of structurally similar chemical components in TCM, laying a foundation for the application of cocrystal technology in the separation and refining of TCM.

Construction of a High-Throughput Mutation Library of Mycobacterium Rifampin Resistance Gene rpoB / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

ObjectiveTo establish a mutation library of rifampicin resistance gene rpoB. MethodsThe ΔrpoB attB：：rpoB strain of Mycobacterium smegmatis （M. smegmatis） be constructed by homologous recombination and L5 attB phage integration site exchange. Based on the L5 attB plasmid exchange system and resistance selection medium， 48 clones are selected to verify plasmid replacement efficiency. Degenerate primers are designed every 3 bases in the rifampicin resistance determining region （RRDR）， and a full-coverage mutation library of 81 bases in RRDR region is obtained by PCR amplification. The library fragments are seamlessly cloned into the vector and transformed into Escherichia coli （E. coli）to form an E. coli mutation library. Based on the principle of plasmid exchange， the mutant plasmid library is transformed into the M. smegmatis strain ΔrpoB attB：：rpoB， and the original L5 attB site plasmid is replaced to form the M. smegmatis mutant library. The genotype of the library are determined by genome extraction， library construction and high-throughput sequencing. ResultsCompared with the wild-type rpoB gene （5 600 bp）， the amplified fragment of the rpoB knockout strain is 2 200 bp， which proved that the ΔrpoB attB：：rpoB conditional knockout strain of M. smegmatis is successfully constructed. The success rate of plasmid replacement is 100%. There were 540 kinds of single amino acid mutations in both E. coli library and M. smegmatis library， 5 301 kinds of multi-point mutations in E. coli library， and 853 kinds of multi-point mutations in M. smegmatis library. The correlation coefficient between E. coli library and M. smegmatis library is 0.84. ConclusionsWe have developed a strategy to construct a library of mutants targeting the essential mycobacterial gene rpoB， and successfully established a mutant library of rifampicin resistance gene rpoB.

Infrared spectral band screening based on partial least squares is used for the quantitative analysis of mannitol-calcium chloride cocrystal / 药学学报

Mannitol-calcium chloride metal organic framework (MOF) cocrystal significantly improved the tabletability of β-mannitol and could be developed as a new tablet filler. However, mannitol monomer was found in the product during the scale-up production of the excipient, which significantly affected the functional properties of the excipient. In this study, we intend to quantify the multi-component eutectic system of mannitol-calcium chloride. In this experiment, the MOF cocrystal excipient mannitol-calcium chloride cocrystal was used as the model compound, and infrared spectrum was collected. Based on partial least squares regression (PLSR) method, the abnormal bands were removed and the spectrum was preprocessed by normalization. The quantitative correction model of mannitol-calcium chloride MOF cocrystal content in cocrystal excipients was established and compared by two different variable screening methods, genetic algorithm (GA) and competitive adaptive reweighting algorithm (CARS). Two different variable screening methods, GA method and CARS method, were used to screen out 160 and 14 variables, respectively. The mannitol-calcium chloride cocrystal model established by CARS-PLSR method had the best performance, and the average relative error (MRE) and corrected root mean square error (RMSEC) of the model were 0.008 8 and 0.892 5, respectively, the determination coefficient (R2) of the model was increased from 0.978 3 to 0.994 4. The quantitative method of eutectic system established in this study has high prediction accuracy, fast detection speed and good stability, which is of great significance for optimizing the preparation process conditions and quality control methods of such eutectic excipients.

Etiological diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis / 中华肝脏病杂志

Objective: To explore the etiological diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis. Methods: The study was a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of patients with PD-related peritonitis who were treated and underwent microbial cultivation and mNGS test at the same time from June 2020 to July 2021 in the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University were analyzed. The positive rate, detection time and consistency between mNGS test and traditional microbial culture were compared. Results: A total of 18 patients with age of (50.4±15.4) years old and median dialysis time of 34.0 (12.4, 62.0) months were enrolled in the study, including 11 males and 7 females. Pathogenic microorganisms were isolated in 17 patients by mNGS test, with a positive rate of 17/18, which was higher than 13/18 of microbial culture, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.219). Both mNGS test and microbial culture isolated positive pathogenic bacteria in 12 patients, and mNGS test isolated the same types of pathogenic bacteria as microbial cultivation did in 11 patients. In five patients with negative microbial culture, mNGS test also isolated pathogenic microorganisms, including 3 cases of Staphylococcus epidermidis, 1 case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 1 case of Ureaplasma urealyticum. In 1 patient, microbial culture isolated pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli) whereas mNGS test did not. The detection time of mNGS was 25.0 (24.0, 27.0) h, which was significantly shorter than 89.0 (72.8, 122.0) h of microbial culture (Z=3.726, P<0.001). Conclusions: mNGS test can improve the detection rate of pathogenic microorganisms in PD-related peritonitis and greatly shorten the detection time, and has good consistency with microbial culture. mNGS may provide a new approach for pathogen identification of PD-related peritonitis, especially refractory peritonitis.

Clinical analysis of 53 children with connective tissue disease complicated with interstitial lung disease / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical manifestations, characteristics of chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), and prognosis of connective tissue disease (CTD) complicated with interstitial lung disease (ILD) in children.Methods:The clinical data of 53 children with CTD-ILD who were admitted to the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Affiliated Xi′an Children′s Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University from October 2013 to October 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including clinical manifestations, blood gas analysis, chest HRCT and prognosis.Results:As for these 53 children with CTD-ILD, the ratio of male to female was 1.0∶1.4, the average age was (7.50±3.34) years, and the course of disease was 2.00 (0.85, 7.50) months.Among them, there were 25 cases (47.2%) of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), 15 cases (28.3%) of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 11 cases of polymyositis / dermatomyositis (PM/DM) (20.7%), 1 case of overlap syndrome (OS) (1.9%), and 1 case of allergic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (AGPA) (1.9%). Although cough (39.6%) was the most common symptom of respiratory system in these children with CTD-ILD and fever(66.0%) was the most common symptom in the systemic features.Blood gas analysis appeared abnormal in 17 cases, including 10 cases of hypoxemia (18.9%) and 7 cases of type Ⅰ respiratory failure (13.2%). HRCT chest showed ground glass shadow, strip shadow, subpleural spot shadow, grid shadow, pleural thickening, consolidation shadow, nodular shadow and cystic low-density shadow, with the proportion of 52.8%, 26.4%, 22.6%, 18.9%, 11.3%, 7.5%, 1.9% and 1.9%, respectively; nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP)(39.6%) was the most common type of imaging classification.After the combined treatment with glucocorticoids, immunosuppressive agents and biological agents, HRCT chest showed remarkably improvement in 36 cases (67.9%), while no change in 8 cases (15.1%). A total of 75.0%(33 cases) of 44 cases were infected in the course of combined treatment.In addition, 9 cases (17.0%) died from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), among which 4 cases exacerbated to rapid progressive luge disease and 5 cases aggravated secondary ARDS due to infection.Conclusions:Only a small number of children with CTD-ILD have respiratory symptoms and signs.HRCT chest contributes to the early diagnosis of CTD-ILD, and its imaging manifestations are diverse.Blood gas analysis and HRCT chest play an important role in the disease evaluation and treatment planning.Moreover, it is the direction for further research to develop effective methods to prevent and control secondary infection so as to improve the survival rate and reduce the mortality rate during the active treatment of primary diseases.

Budget impact analysis of treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension included in special and chronic disease outpatient reimbursement policy / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the budget impact on medical insurance fund upon the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension（PAH）included in the outpatient special and chronic disease management policy （hereinafter refer to as the Policy ）， so as to provide reference for medical insurance reimbursement decision-making. METHODS Based on the perspective of medical insurance payer ，a budget impact model with 10 million people was built to calculate the budget impact on the medical insurance fund in the next three years （2021-2023）after PAH treatment included in the Policy. The measured cost mainly included the cost of medicine，outpatient registration ，examinations，hospitalizations，and death events. RESULTS A total of 34-36 patients with PAH per year were expected to use targeted therapy during 2021-2023. For cities with outpatient costs not covered by the pooling fund of basic medical insurance ，upon the treatment of PAH included the Policy ，the annual expenditure of the medical insurance fund increased by about 40 000 yuan，i.e. an increase of about 1 000 yuan per patient. For cities with outpatient costs covered by the pooling fund ，the annual expenditure of the medical insurance fund increased by about 80 000 yuan，which was equal to 2 000 yuan increase per patient. The increment of above cost decreased year by year. CONCLUSIONS The incremental expenditure of the medical insurance fund is controllable after the treatment of PAH included the Policy ；with the implementation of the Policy ，the incremental expenditure of the medical insurance fund will be reduced year by year.

Rapid identification of phthalides and organic acids in Angelica sinensis based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To establish a comprehensive and rapid m ethod for the a nalysis of chemical constituents as phthalides and organic acids in Angelica sinensis ，and to provide scientific reference for the quality evaluation and pharmacodynamic substance research of A. sinensis . METHODS The 70％ ethanol extract of A. sinensis was analyzed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF/MS）. The determination was performed on ACQUITY UPLC BEH-C 18 column with mobile phase consisted of 0.1％ formic acid solution- acetonitrile（gradient elution ）at the flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The column temperature was set at 30 ℃，and sample size was 2 µL. The ion source was an electrospray ion source ，using positive ion scanning mode ，and the mass scanning range was m/z 50-1 000. Capillary voltage was 4 000 V； atomizer pressure was 35 psi；cracking voltage was 135 V and the taper hole voltage was 65 V；the temperature of dry gas was 320 ℃；the flow of dry gas was 10 L/min and the flow of sheath gas was 11 L/min；collision energy were 20 and 40 V. Qualitative Analysis 10.0 software was used to obtain the retention time of compounds ，the accurate mass number of excimer ion peaks and secondary fragments. The compounds were analyzed by comparing with the mass spectra of the reference substance ，combined with relevant literature ，mass spectrometry cleavage law and database such as Chemspider ，MassBank，PubChem. RESULTS A total of 72 compounds were identified or deduced from A. sinensis ，including 55 phthalides，13 organic acids and 4 other constituents. CONCLUSIONS The established method is rapid and accurate for the identification of chemical constituents from A. sinensis ，such as organic acids and phthalides ，which provides an efficient and rapid analytical method for the comprehensive characterization of its chemical constituents.

Metformin inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of HER-2 positive breast cancer cells possibly through the Hippo-YAP pathway / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effect of metformin on the proliferation and apoptosis of HER-2-positive breast cancer cell line SKBR3 and explore the possible mechanism of its action.@*METHODS@#SKBR3 cells were treated with different concentrations (20-120 μmol/L) of metformin, and the changes in cell proliferation and colony formation ability were assessed using CCK-8 assay and crystal violet staining, respectively. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze cell apoptosis and cell cycle changes. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect mRNA expressions of YAP, TAZ, EGFR, CTGF, CYR61, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin and fibronectin in the treated cells, and the protein expressions of YAP and TAZ were detected using Western blotting; immunofluorescence assay was used to observe YAP/TAZ nuclear translocation in the cells.@*RESULTS@#Metformin treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of SKBR3 cells (P < 0.05) in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The results of flow cytometry showed that metformin significantly promoted apoptosis and caused cell cycle arrest at G1 phase in SKBR3 cells. Metformin treatment significantly down-regulated the mRNA expressions of YAP, TAZ, EGFR, CTGF and CYR61, N-cadherin, vimentin and fibronectin (P < 0.05) and up-regulated the expression of E-cadherin (P < 0.05); Western blotting results showed that YAP and TAZ protein expressions were significantly down-regulated in the cells after metformin treatment (P < 0.05). Immunofluorescence assay revealed that metformin treatment caused the concentration of YAP and TAZ in the cytoplasm, and significantly reduced their amount in the cell nucleus.@*CONCLUSION@#Metformin can inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis and epithelal-mesenchymal transition of HER-2 positive breast cancer cells possibly by that inhibing YAP and TAZ expression and their nuclear localization.

Application value of transrectal multimodal ultrasound in evaluating the efficacy of endocrine therapy for prostate cancer / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To explore the value of transrectal multimodal ultrasound parameters in monitoring and evaluating the efficacy of endocrine therapy for prostate cancer.Methods:Thirty patients with prostate cancer confirmed by pathology and treated with endocrine therapy in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People′s Hospital from November 2019 to May 2021 were selected. The levels of serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume, color Doppler parameters, elasticity index and contrast-enhanced ultrasound parameters were measured and recorded before treatment, 1 month and 3 months after treatment. The parameters before and after treatment were statistically analyzed. The correlation between the changes of each index and PSA was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis.Results:Total prostate specific antigen, free prostate specific antigen, and prostate volume were significantly different before treatment, and 1 month and 3 months after treatment( P<0.05), and the values showed a downward trend with increase of treatment time. There was no significant difference in resistance index before and 1 month after treatment( P>0.05), but decreased significantly 3 months after treatment( P<0.05). The values of elasticity index, peak intensity, area under curve and gradient at 1 month and 3 months after treatment were lower than those before treatment, while the arrival time and rising time at 1 month and 3 months after treatment were significantly higher than those before treatment( P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between the changes of quantitative parameters and PSA value before and after treatment( P>0.05). Conclusions:Prostate volume, color Doppler parameters, elasticity index, and contrast-enhanced ultrasound parameters change in the early stage of endocrine therapy for prostate cancer, which can be used as a useful supplement to PSA for prostate cancer, and can be used to evaluate the efficacy of clinical prostate cancer endocrine therapy.

Preliminary clinical experience of the novel transcatheter aortic valve system Prizvalve® for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the novel Prizvalve® system in treating severe aortic stenosis. Methods: This is a single-center, prospective, single-arm, observational study. A total of 11 patients with severe aortic stenosis with high risk or inappropriate for conventional surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) were included, and TAVI was achieved with the Prizvalve® system between March 2021 and May 2021 in West China Hospital. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed immediately after prosthesis implantation to evaluate mean transaortic gradient and maximal transaortic velocity. The device success rate was calculated, which was defined as (1) the device being delivered via the access, deployed, implanted and withdrawn, (2) mean transaortic gradient<20 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) or a maximal transaortic velocity<3 m/s post TAVI, and without severe aortic regurgitation or paravalvular leak post TAVI. TTE was performed at 30 days after the surgery, and all-cause mortality as well as the major cardiovascular adverse events (including acute myocardial infarction, disabling hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke) up to 30 days post TAVI were analyzed. Results: The age of 11 included patients were (78.1±6.3) years, with 8 males. A total of 10 patients were with NYHA functional class Ⅲ or Ⅳ. Devices were delivered via the access, deployed, implanted and withdrawn successfully in all patients. Post-implant mean transaortic gradient was (7.55±4.08) mmHg and maximal transaortic velocity was (1.78±0.44) m/s, and both decreased significantly as compared to baseline levels (both P<0.05). No severe aortic regurgitation or paravalvular leak was observed post TAVI. Device success was achieved in all the 11 patients. No patient died or experienced major cardiovascular adverse events up to 30 days post TAVI. Mean transaortic gradient was (9.45±5.07) mmHg and maximal transaortic velocity was (2.05±0.42) m/s at 30 days post TAVI, which were similar as the values measured immediately post TAVI (both P>0.05). Conclusions: TAVI with the Prizvalve® system is a feasible and relatively safe procedure for patients with severe aortic stenosis and at high risk or inappropriate for SAVR. Further clinical studies could be launched to obtain more clinical experience with Prizvalve® system.