The MICOS Complex Regulates Mitochondrial Structure and Oxidative Stress During Age-Dependent Structural Deficits in the Kidney.

The kidney filters nutrient waste and bodily fluids from the bloodstream, in addition to secondary functions of metabolism and hormone secretion, requiring an astonishing amount of energy to maintain its functions. In kidney cells, mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and help maintain kidney function. Due to aging, the efficiency of kidney functions begins to decrease. Dysfunction in mitochondria and cristae, the inner folds of mitochondria, is a hallmark of aging. Therefore, age-related kidney function decline could be due to changes in mitochondrial ultrastructure, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS), and subsequent alterations in metabolism and lipid composition. We sought to understand if there is altered mitochondrial ultrastructure, as marked by 3D morphological changes, across time in tubular kidney cells. Serial block facing-scanning electron microscope (SBF-SEM) and manual segmentation using the Amira software were used to visualize murine kidney samples during the aging process at 3 months (young) and 2 years (old). We found that 2-year mitochondria are more fragmented, compared to the 3-month, with many uniquely shaped mitochondria observed across aging, concomitant with shifts in ROS, metabolomics, and lipid homeostasis. Furthermore, we show that the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS) complex is impaired in the kidney due to aging. Disruption of the MICOS complex shows altered mitochondrial calcium uptake and calcium retention capacity, as well as generation of oxidative stress. We found significant, detrimental structural changes to aged kidney tubule mitochondria suggesting a potential mechanism underlying why kidney diseases occur more readily with age. We hypothesize that disruption in the MICOS complex further exacerbates mitochondrial dysfunction, creating a vicious cycle of mitochondrial degradation and oxidative stress, thus impacting kidney health.

Artificial intelligence applications in allergic rhinitis diagnosis: Focus on ensemble learning.

Background: The diagnosis of allergic rhinitis (AR) primarily relies on symptoms and laboratory examinations. Due to limitations in outpatient settings, certain tests such as nasal provocation tests and nasal secretion smear examinations are not routinely conducted. Although there are clear diagnostic criteria, an accurate diagnosis still requires the expertise of an experienced doctor, considering the patient's medical history and conducting examinations. However, differences in physician knowledge and limitations of examination methods can result in variations in diagnosis. Objective: Artificial intelligence is a significant outcome of the rapid advancement in computer technology today. This study aims to present an intelligent diagnosis and detection method based on ensemble learning for AR. Method: We conducted a study on AR cases and 7 other diseases exhibiting similar symptoms, including rhinosinusitis, chronic rhinitis, upper respiratory tract infection, etc. Clinical data, encompassing medical history, clinical symptoms, allergen detection, and imaging, was collected. To develop an effective classifier, multiple models were employed to train on the same batch of data. By utilizing ensemble learning algorithms, we obtained the final ensemble classifier known as adaptive random forest-out of bag-easy ensemble (ARF-OOBEE). In order to perform comparative experiments, we selected 5 commonly used machine learning classification algorithms: Naive Bayes, support vector machine, logistic regression, multilayer perceptron, deep forest (GC Forest), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost).To evaluate the prediction performance of AR samples, various parameters such as precision, sensitivity, specificity, G-mean, F1-score, and area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve were jointly employed as evaluation indicators. Results: We compared 7 classification models, including probability models, tree models, linear models, ensemble models, and neural network models. The ensemble classification algorithms, namely ARF-OOBEE and GC Forest, outperformed the other algorithms in terms of the comprehensive classification evaluation index. The accuracy of G-mean and AUC parameters improved by nearly 2% when compared to the other algorithms. Moreover, these ensemble classifiers exhibited excellent performance in handling large-scale data and unbalanced samples. Conclusion: The ARF-OOBEE ensemble learning model demonstrates strong generalization performance and comprehensive classification abilities, making it suitable for effective application in auxiliary AR diagnosis.

Cembranoids and their bioactivities in soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum / 中国中药杂志

Chemical constituents in soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum were separated and purified by various chromatographic methods. Based on the spectral data, physicochemical properties, and comparison with the data reported in the literature, nine cembranoids, including a new cembranoid named sefsarcophinolide(1) together with eight known cembranoids, namely(+)-isosarcophine(2), sarcomilitatin D(3), sarcophytonolide J(4),(1S,3E,7E,13S)-11,12-epoxycembra-3,7,15-triene-13-ol(5), sarcophytonin B(6),(-)-eunicenone(7), lobophytin B(8), and arbolide C(9), were identified. As revealed by biological activity experiment results, compounds 2-6 had weak acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, and compound 5 displayed weak cytotoxicity against K562 tumor cell line.

CHOP overexpression sensitizes human non-small cell lung cancer cells to cisplatin treatment by Bcl-2/JNK pathway.

C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), a 29 kDa cellular protein, plays a role in regulating tumor proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, cell death, and in tumor resistance to chemotherapy. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a tumor of the respiratory system and drug resistance is prevalent among NSCLC clinical cell cultures. Herein, our study elucidated the effect of CHOP on NSCLC cells with cisplatin resistance and its mechanism. In a NSCLC cell line with cisplatin-resistance, CHOP expression was decreased, compared with A549 cells. Overexpression of CHOP decreased the cell viability and enhanced cell apoptosis in the cells treated with cisplatin. Expression of CHOP also inhibited the cell proliferation and metastasis. CHOP increased the therapeutic effect of cisplatin on NSCLC cells through the Bcl-2/JNK pathway. In summary, CHOP regulated cisplatin resistance in cells of NSCLC by promoting the expression of apoptotic proteins and inhibiting the Bcl-2/JNK signaling pathway, indicating the antitumor effects of CHOP.

Study on chemical constituents from fruiting bodies of Ganoderma calidophilum / 中国中药杂志

Chemical constituents were isolated and purified from fruiting bodies of Ganoderma calidophilum by various column chromatographic techniques, and their chemical structures were identified through combined analysis of physicochemical properties and spectral data. As a result, 11 compounds were isolated and identified as(24E)-lanosta-8,24-dien-3,11-dione-26-al(1), ganoderone A(2), 3-oxo-15α-acetoxy-lanosta-7,9(11), 24-trien-26-oleic acid(3),(23E)-27-nor-lanosta-8,23-diene-3,7,25-trione(4), ganodecanone B(5), ganoderic aldehyde A(6), 11β-hydroxy-lucidadiol(7), 3,4-dihydroxyacetophenone(8), methyl gentiate(9), ganoleucin C(10), ganotheaecolumol H(11). Among them, compound 1 is a new triterpenoid. The cytotoxic activities of all of the compounds against tumor cell lines were evaluated. The results showed that compounds 1, 3, 4 and 6 showed cytotoxic activity against BEL-7402, with IC_(50) values of 26.55, 11.35, 23.23, 18.66 μmol·L~(-1); compounds 1 and 3-6 showed cytotoxic activity against K562, with IC_(50) values of 5.79, 22.16, 12.16, 35.32, and 5.59 μmol·L~(-1), and compound 4 showed cytotoxic activity against A549, with IC_(50) value of 42.50 μmol·L~(-1).

A new cytotoxic isoflavane from Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum / 中国中药杂志

Fourteen compounds were isolated from the ethanol extract of Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum by various chromatographic techniques, including column chromatographies on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic techniques as S-3'-hydroxy-7,2',4'-trimethoxyisoxane(1), 2-(2',4'-dimethoxyphenyl)-6-hydroxybenzofuran(2), 2-(2'-hydroxy-4'-methoxyphenyl)-6-methoxybenzofuran(3), 7,2',4'-trimethoxydihydroisoflavone(4), sativanone(5), 3,9-dimethoxy-6H-benzofuro[3,2-c]chromen-6-one(6),(6 aS,11 aS)-homopterocarpin(7),(6 aS,11 aS)-8-hydroxy-3,9-dimethoxypterocarpan(8),(6 aS,11 aS)-3,8,9-trimethoxypterocarpan(9), isodalbergin(10), isoliquiritigenin(11), butein(12), butin(13) and 3,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone(14). Among them, compound 1 was a new compound, while 2 and 3 were new natural products, 6, 8, 9 and 14 were isolated for the first time from Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum. Compounds 1-14 were tested for their cytotoxic activity against human hepatoma cell line BEL-7402, human gastric cancer cell line SCG-7901, human lung cancer cell line A549, human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line K562 and HeLa human cervical cancer cellline by MTT method. Compound 1 exhibited significant cytotoxicity with IC_(50) values ranging from 2.85 to 11.62 μg·mL~(-1). In addition, 2, 11 and 12 showed weak cytotoxic activities.

Analysis of the Effect of Intelligent Regulation of Infusion Sequence on Promoting Intravenous Rational Drug Use / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To evaluate th e eff ects of infusion sequence regulation on the promotion of intravenous rational drug use. METHODS ：The intelligent control of infusion sequence was realized with Markov chain machine learning method on the basis of intelligent reminder manual labeling infusion sequence. Selected from Binhu Hospital of Hefei during Jan. to Sept. 2017， 164 800 inpatients’medication orders were collected as data before intelligent control of infusion sequence ，and 264 600 inpatients’ medication orders were collected as data after intelligent control of infusion sequence. The correct rate of incompatibility ，storage time limit ，administration frequency ，chronopharmacology，preventive drugs ，drug interaction ，auxiliary drugs and infusion sequence for intravenous irritant drugs were compared before and after regulation ；the times of flushing tube ，the cost of flushing tube infusion and the change of liquid property in the infusion tube were compared before and after regulation. RESULTS ：The correct rate of incompatibility ，storage time limit ，administration frequency ，chronopharmacology，drug interaction and infusion sequence for auxiliary drugs after regulation were significantly higher than before regulation ；the correct rate of infusion sequence for preventive drugs and intravenous irritant drugs ，the times of flushing tube ，the cost of flushing tube infusion and the case number of the liquid change （proportion） in infusion tube were significantly lower than before regulation （P＜0.001）. CONCLUSIONS：Intelligent regulation of infusion sequence can improve the rationality of intravenous medication sequence to a certain extend.

Design and Upgrading of Finished Infusion Label in PIVAS of Our Hospital / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To design and upgrade the finished infusion label in P IVAS of Hefei Binhu hospital ，so as to improve the safety and effectiveness of intravenous medication. METHODS ：By investigating the experience and suggestions about the use of infusion labels by pharmacists and clinical nurses in PIVAS ，taking clear ，concise，focused，rational layout ，comprehensive information as improving principle ，the infusion label was designed and upgraded. The effect of upgrading were evaluated by the recognition rate of label scanning ，scanning time and rate on label （94 701，113 759 groups，respectively），and the correct rate ， time and rate of drug delivery checking in 30 days before and after upgrading ，as well as satisfaction degree ，which made among PIVAS pharmacists （30），nurses（50）and patients （49）. RESULTS ：The upgraded label simplified part of the content and optimized the layout structure ，removed redundant content ，focused on the patient safety information that nurses needed to pay attention to when checking ，and added the marking of infusion sequence and precautions. By changing the barcode into two-dimensional code and adding hidden display function ，more information about drugs and rational drug use related to the infusion of patients was provided. Compared with original label ，after upgrading ，the recognition rate of new label scanning increased from 99.27％ to 99.96％，the scanning time reduced from 3 518.75 s/d to 2 110.10 s/d，and the scanning rate increased from 0.57 group/s to 0.95 group/s；the correct rate of drug delivery checking increased from 99.73％ to 99.91％，the time of drug delivery checking decreased from 5 423.55 s/d to 4 818.85 s/d，and the speed of drug delivery checking increased from 0.36 group/s to 0.41 group/s. The satisfaction degree of pharmacists ，nurses and patients were increased from 70.00％ to 93.33％，from 62.00％ to 90.00％，from 20.40％ to 89.80％，respectively. CONCLUSIONS：The design and upgrading of infusion labels can improve the working efficiency of staff ，and improve the quality of pharmaceutical care and nursing care ， and satisfaction， promote the improvement on the safety and effectiveness of intravenous medication for patients.

Study on the Practice of Regulating Individualized Infusion Sequence in PIVAS of Our Hospital / 中国药房

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE：To establish the infusion sequence regulation procedure of PIVAS，and implement individual regulation. METHODS：By combining factors such as liquid volume of each batch，incompatibility between groups and specific solvents of specific drugs，intelligent prompt system and the artificial intelligent regulation system of infusion sequence were successively established to sequence the therapeutic drugs and adjuvant drugs used for the patients with different diagnoses and different purposes in different inpatient areas in a day，so as to realize intelligent control of individual infusion sequence. From Jan. to Sept. in 2017 and from Jan. to Sept. in 2019 as research stages before and after the intelligent control of individualized infusion sequence，the control effect was evaluated with the proportion of reasonable number of infusion priority cases，the proportion of appropriate number of elderly patients’batch liquid volume cases，the proportion of incompatibility cases between separate groups， the number and cost of flushing tubes as index. RESULTS：After regulating infusion sequence individually，the proportion of reasonable infusion priority rose from 5.56％ to 98.72％ ；the proportion of batch liquid quantity appropriate cases in elderly patients rose from 9.58％ to 98.10％；the proportion which separated the incompatibility between groups rose from 41.03％ to 99.12％；the number of washing tube dropped to（0.95±0.43）times/ward/d from（12.95±0.57）times/ward/d；the cost of washing tube could be saved 85 800 yuan/year. CONCLUSIONS：The implementation of individualized infusion sequence regulation promote safe and effective infusion，and provide reference for pharmacists of PIVAS in China to carry out precise pharmaceutical care.

Application of heart rate variability in acupuncture research / 针刺研究

The measurement of heart rate variability (HRV) has the advantages of noninvasiveness and simple operation and is widely used in clinical trials and scientific research for assessing reactions of the autonomic nervous system. More and more studies on acupuncture also take HRV as an important index. In addition to the definition, origin, analytical methods, and significance of time domain and frequency domain parameters of HRV, we reviewed the situations of application of HRV to acupuncture research in recent years, analyzed the influence of acupuncture and sham acupuncture, different acupuncture methods, and different acupoints on HRV, and confirmed the role of HRV in reflecting the effect of acupuncture on the vagal and sympathetic systems. However, various interference factors for HRV measurement and diverse methods for data analysis may lead to great differences in the experimental results of HRV and the interpretation of parameters. Therefore, careful analysis is needed in future studies on acupuncture with HRV as an observation index.

A new eudesmane type sesquiterpene from cultivated Clerodendranthus spicatus in Hainan / 中国中药杂志

Six compounds were isolated from the aerial part of cultivated Clerodendranthus spicatus in Hainan with various chromatographic techniques,and their structures were determined as:1-dehydroxy-1-oxo-rupestrinol(1),N-trans-feruloyltyramine(2),methyl 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactate(3),caffein acid(4),methyl caffeate(5) and ethyl caffeate(6),via analysis of physicochemical properties and spectroscopic evidence.Compound 1 was a new compound,while compounds 2 and 3 were isolated from C.spicatus for the first time.Biological activity results showed that compounds 2-4 exhibited α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with different inhibition ratio.

Study on sesquiterpenes from agarwood originating from Gyrinops salicifolia / 中国中药杂志

Two sesquiterpenes were isolated from the agarwood originating from Gyrinops salicifolia with various chromatographic techniques, and their structures were determined as 12-hydroxy-dihydrocyperolone(1) and(rel)-4β,5β,7β-eremophil-9-en-12,8α-olide(2), through a combined analysis of physicochemical properties and spectroscopic evidence. Compound 1 was a new compound. Compound 2 showed cytotoxicities against K562 and BEL-7401 cell lines, with IC_(50) values of(17.85±0.04) and(21.82±0.07) mg·L~(-1), respectively [taxol as positive control, with IC_(50) values of(1.97±0.11) and(6.31±0.08) mg·L~(-1)].

Cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea secondary to congenital inner ear dysplasia: diagnosis and management of 18 cases / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

OBJECTIVE@#To describe the characteristics of the clinical presentation, diagnosis, surgical methods, and outcomes of patients with otogenic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage secondary to congenital inner ear dysplasia.@*METHODS@#A retrospective review was performed of 18 patients with otogenic CSF leakage secondary to inner ear dysplasia who underwent surgery in our group from 2007 to 2017 and had a follow-up of at least 4 months. The average length of follow-up was three years. The characteristics of the clinical presentations of all patients, such as self-reported symptoms, radiographic findings, surgical approaches and methods of repair, position of the leakage during surgery, and postoperative course, including the success rate of surgery, are presented.@*RESULTS@#The patients presented mostly with typical symptoms of meningitis, severe hearing impairment, and CSF otorrhea or rhinorrhea. All 18 patients had at least one previous episode of meningitis accompanied by a severe hearing impairment. The preoperative audiograms of 17 patients showed profound sensorineural hearing loss, and one patient had conductive hearing loss. Twelve patients presented with an initial onset of otorrhea, and two had accompanying rhinorrhea. Six patients complained of rhinorrhea, two of whom were misdiagnosed with CSF rhinorrhea and underwent transnasal endoscopy at another hospital. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images can reveal developments in the inner ear, such as expansion of a vestibular cyst, unclear structure of the semicircular canal or cochlea, or signs of effusion in the middle ear or mastoid, which strongly suggest the possibility of CSF otorrhea. The children in the study suffered more severe dysplasia than adults. All 18 patients had CSF leakage identified during surgery. The most common defect sites were in the stapes footplates (55.6%), and 38.9% of patients had a leak around the oval window. One patient had a return of CSF otorrhea during the postoperative period, which did not re-occur following a second repair.@*CONCLUSIONS@#CSF otorrhea due to congenital inner ear dysplasia is more severe in children than in adults. The most common symptoms were meningitis, hearing impairment, and CSF otorrhea or rhinorrhea. HRCT has high diagnostic accuracy for this disease. The most common fistula site was around the oval window, including the stapes footplates and the annular ligament.

A Potential Role of Adenosine A 2 b Receptor in Mediating Acupuncture Pretreatment Induced Cardioprotection via Influencing Intracellular Calcium Regulator / 针刺研究

It has been shown that ischemia preconditioning (IPC) can attenuate the myocardial injury induced by ischemic and reperfusion. But it was rarely used in clinic due to its inoperability. Previous studies indicate that electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment can mimic myocardial ischemia preconditioning (MIPC) to produce cardioprotective effect. The activated adenosine A 2 b receptor has been proven to be involved in mediating the cardioprotection of IPC. In the studies on acupuncture analgesia, it was reported that adenosine receptor was activated by acupuncture stimulation, and acupuncture pretreatment can affect the acti-vities of intracellular A 2 b receptor. Based on those mentioned above, it is highly likely that the A 2 b receptor may also participate in the cardioprotection produced by acupuncture pretreatment. In this paper, we comprehensively reviewed relevant studies regarding 1) the cardioprotective effect of IPC and its limitations, 2) the similar cardioprotection produced by both acupuncture pre-treatment and IPC, 3) the mechanism underlying myocardial ischemic injury and intracellular calcium regulation, 4) the acti-vation of adenosine receptors and effects of acupuncture, 5) the relationship between adenosine receptors and intracellular calcium ion, and 6) the effect of acupuncture on adenosine receptors, so as to provide a novel assumption that A 2 b receptor may be a key factor in mediating the cardioprotection of acupuncture pretreatment. Our future research will systematically explore the me-chanism of acupuncture pretreatment in protecting ischemic myocardium from myocardial cell adenosine A 2 b receptor and intracellular calcium signal transduction related factors.

Exploration of regulating infusion administration sequence by an intelligent prompt system in pharmacy intravenous admixture services / 中华医院管理杂志

Eight sub-databases of pharmacological information on rational use of medicines were designed and established. These sub-databases cover dosing frequency, therapeutic drug priority to auxiliary medication, infusion shelf-life after admixture, incompatibility of two continuous infusion in the vein infusion tube, chronopharmacology, drug interaction involved in administration sequence , venous irritative drugs and preventive medicine. Once the standing order delivery to PIVAS involves any of these sub-databases, the system will prompt in turn " Auxiliary" , " Time limit" , " Taboo" , " Chronopharmacology" , " Interaction" , " Irritative" and " Preventive (therapeutic)" , starting from therapeutic drug priority to auxiliary medication. Pharmacists would make a reasonable sequence of the corresponding infusion and label the administration sequence on the infusion tag according to the prompt.Compared to the circumstance prior to this system, the wards with the infusion sequence labeling and equipped with intelligent prompt increased from 2 to 43; the percentage of such inpatients increased from 0.50% to 66.33%; the percentage of medical orders increased from 0.72% to 78.94%. The time spent by pharmacists for the same workload reduced from 73.44 h per day to 1.94 h per day. The times of flushing infusion tube reduced from 34.42 to 1.49 per ward and per day. The cost of flushing infusion tubes reduced by a big margin. PIVAS has established a method of regulating infusion administration sequence by an intelligent prompt system, based on improved safety and effectiveness of medication.

Effect of Acupuncture on the Notch Signaling Pathway in Rats with Brain Injury / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of acupuncture on the Notch signaling pathway in rats with traumatic brain injury and to explore the pathogenesis of acupuncture intervention on traumatic brain injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Feeney's freefall epidural impact method was used to establish a traumatic brain injury model in rats; the rats were randomly divided into a normal group, sham operation group, model group and acupuncture group. Acupuncture was performed in the Baihui (DU 20), Shuigou (DU 26), Fengfu (DU 16), Yamen (DU 15) and Hegu (LI 4) acupoints in the rat, and Yamen was punctured via Fengfu. Then, the rats in each group were randomly divided into three subgroups, namely the day 3 subgroup, day 7 subgroup and day 14 subgroup according to treatment duration. The modified neurological severity scores (mNss) method was used to perform neurobehavioral scoring for evaluating the degree of injury in the rats. The hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining method was used to observe the pathological change in the brain tissue of rats in each group. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) technology was used to detect changes in the Notch1, Hes1 and Hes5 gene expression levels in the cortex on the injured side. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression changes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One day after modeling, the mNss scores in the model group and in the acupuncture group were significantly higher than those in the normal and sham operation groups (P<0.01) ; there was no statistically significant difference between the normal group and the sham operation group. The scores decreased with increased treatment time, and the scores in the acupuncture group decreased more significantly than those in the model group (P<0.01). The pathological examination by the HE staining method demonstrated that the brain tissue of the rats in the acupuncture and model groups relatively significantly changed. The Notch1 gene expression level in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than the level in all of the other groups (P<0.01) ; the Hes1 and Hes5 gene expression levels were also higher in the acupuncture group. The expression changes of the Notch1 and Hes1 protein were consistent with that of mRNA. In each experimental group, the mNss score and the pathological results by the HE staining method were consistent with the mRNA results.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture could significantly promote high expression levels of Notch1, Hes1 and Hes5 in the brain tissue of traumatic brain injury rats. Therefore, acupuncture might be an important intervention for inducing endogenous stem cell proliferation and for promoting nerve repair.</p>

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Induces HRD1 to Protect Alveolar Type II Epithelial Cells from Apoptosis Induced by Cigarette Smoke Extract.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This study aimed to examine the effects of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on alveolar type II epithelial cells (AECII) and investigate the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Primary AECII were isolated from rat lung tissues and exposed to CSE. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Protein expression was detected by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Primary rat AECII maintained morphological and physiological characteristic after 3 passages. CSE increased the expression of ER specific pro-apoptosis factors CHOP and caspase 12, and the phosphorylation of JNK in AECII. CSE activated ER stress signaling and increased the phosphorylation of PERK, eIF2α and IRE1. Furthermore, CSE induced the expression of Hrd1, a key factor of ER-associated degradation, in AECII. Knockdown of Hrd1 led to more than 2 fold increase of apoptosis, while overexpression of Hrd1 attenuated CSE induced apoptosis of AECII. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that ER stress induces HRD1 to protect alveolar type II epithelial cells from apoptosis induced by CSE.

A new sesquiterpene from Chinese agarwood induced by artificial holing / 中国中药杂志

In order to study the chemical constituents of n-butanol fraction of ethanol extract from Chinese agarwood induced by artificial holing, various chromatographic techniques were carried out to isolate compounds, and the structures of compounds were determined through a combined analysis of physicochemical properties and spectroscopic evidence. Seven compounds were obtained and identified as selina-3,11-dien-9,15-diol (1), aquilarone D (2), 5α,6β,7α,8β-tetrahydroxy-2-[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrochromone (3), 6,7-dimethoxy-2-[2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]chromone (4), syringin (5), methyl (Z)-p-coumarate (6), and 4'-methoxycinnamic acid (7), among which compound 1 was a new compound and compounds 5-7 were isolated from agarwood for the first time. The bioactivity assay results concluded that compounds 6 and 7 showed certain nematicidal activity against Panagrellus redivivus, and compounds 4, 6 and 7 exhibited cytotoxicity against BEL-7402, SGC-7901 and A549 carcinoma cell lines.

Analysis of Gene Mutation Types of Thalassemia in Longyan Area of Fujian Province in China / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the type and distribution of thalassemia gene mutation in Longyan area of Fujian province in China, so as to provide a evidence for prenatal diagnosis and to reduce birth defects.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and hemoglobin electrophoresis were used for screened the mutation types of thalassemia. Genotyping of the screened positive sample was performed by gap single polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) and reverse dot blot hybridization (RDB).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Out of 7823 cases of routine positive blood test, 2826 cases were positive (36.12%) by using hemoglobin electrophoresis; 1905 out of 2710 cases were diagnosed as Mediterranean anemia by genetic test, with 24.35% of carrying rate; 1225 cases were positive alpha thalassaemia and the carrying rate was 15.66%, their major genetic types were --/αα,-α/αα,-α/--and -α/αα, with carrying rate of 12.91%, 1.28%, 0.51% and 0.74%, respectively; 632 cases were positive β thalassaemia, with carrying rate of 8.08%, the major genotypes were 654M/N,41-42M/N,17M/N,-28M/N and 27-28M/N and with carrying rate of 3.66%, 2.22%, 0.78%, 0.66% and 0.45%, respectively; 48 cases were diagnosed as both α- and β-thalassemia, with the carrying rate of 0.61%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The main gene mutation types of α- and β-thalassemia in Longyan area of Fujian Province in China were --/aa and 654 M/N. As thalassemia gene mutation prevalents in Fujian, the screening of thalassemia genotypes for childbearing age woman has great significance for raising population quality.</p>