A gene cluster encoding a nonribosomal peptide synthetase-like enzyme catalyzes γ-aromatic butenolides.

Sea cucumber-derived fungi have attracted much attention due to their capacity to produce an incredible variety of secondary metabolites. Genome-wide information on Aspergillus micronesiensis H39 obtained using third-generation sequencing technology (PacBio-SMRT) showed that the strain contains nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-like gene clusters, which aroused our interest in mining its secondary metabolites. 11 known compounds (1-11), including two γ-aromatic butenolides (γ-AB) and five cytochalasans, were isolated from A. micronesiensis H39. The structures of the compounds were determined by NMR and ESIMS, and comparison with those reported in the literature. From the perspective of biogenetic origins, the γ-butyrolactone core of compounds 1 and 2 was assembled by NRPS-like enzyme. All of the obtained compounds showed no inhibitory activity against drug-resistant bacteria and fungi, as well as compounds 1 and 2 had no anti-angiogenic activity against zebrafish.

Efficacy and safety of Yangxue Qingnao Granules in treatment of migraine: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Yangxue Qingnao Granules (YXQN) is a Chinese patent medicine that has been commonly used in the clinical treatment of migraine. AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of YXQN alone for the treatment of migraine. METHODS: We searched 10 databases to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before September 2022. Two review authors independently searched and screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality of the studies using criteria from ROB 2.0, and analyzed the data using Review Manager 5.4 software. RESULTS: A total of 12 RCTs including 767 participants with migraine met the selection criteria. We divided these studies into comparisons of YXQN with placebo, routine treatment drugs, and other Chinese patent medicines. The meta-analysis showed the following: (1) Efficacy: The YXQN group outperformed the placebo group [relative risk (RR) = 0.29, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.15-0.43, P < 0.00001], routine treatment group (RR = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.09-0.27, P < 0.0001), and Chinese patent medicine group (RR = 0.27, 95%CI: 0.13-0.41, P < 0.001); (2) frequency of headache: There was a significant difference between YXQN vs placebo [mean difference (MD) = -1.25, 95%CI: -1.60 to -0.90, P < 0.00001], routine treatment drugs (MD = -0.85, 95%CI: -1.15 to -0.56, P < 0.00001), and Chinese patent medicine (MD = -0.91, 95%CI: -1.35 to -0.46, P < 0.0001); (3) headache duration: We found great heterogeneity between studies, with no differences between YXQN and placebo (MD = -0.61, 95%CI: -1.53 to -0.31, P = 0.19) and routine treatment drugs (MD = -0.22, 95%CI: -0.89 to 0.46, P < 0.53). YXQN was more effective than other Chinese patent medicines in reducing headache duration (MD = -1.24, 95%CI: -1.70 to -0.77, P < 0.00001); and (4) headache severity: There was no significant difference between YXQN vs placebo (MD = -1.67, 95%CI: -3.52 to 0.19, P = 0.08), routine treatment drugs (MD = -0.53, 95%CI: -2.02 to 0.96, P = 0.68), and other Chinese patent medicines (MD = -0.49, 95%CI: -2.83 to 1.85, P = 0.68). Mild gastrointestinal adverse reactions were reported in three cases. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that YXQN is effective and safe for treatment of migraine.

Occupational daily walking steps have inverse relationship with papillary thyroid cancer risk and progression: a retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Investigate the impact of daily occupational walking steps on the progression of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), a topic hitherto underresearched. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The authors analyzed the data from 800 individuals with PTC across stages 0-IV. Participants were evenly divided into 2 distinct occupational groups: office workers and construction workers (N = 400 each). Data included comprehensive records of daily walking steps, demographic information, and clinical indicators. Pearson's correlation coefficients or analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to assess the linkage between daily walking steps and PTC risk and stage, as well as associated biochemical markers. RESULTS: The analysis revealed a significant inverse relationship between daily walking steps and PTC risk. A higher frequency of daily steps was associated with reduced chances of PTC onset and a lower diagnostic stage of the disease. This protective effect of physical activity was particularly pronounced in the construc- tion worker cohort. Subsequent evaluations showed that construction workers who consistently logged higher daily steps had markedly lower levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, thyroid peroxidase antibody, thyroglobulin antibody, and thy- roglobulin (Tg). Notably, daily walking steps exhibited a strong inverse correlation with body mass index (BMI), age, PTC volumes, and levels of TSH and Tg across both occupational groups (ρ < -0.37). The increase in daily steps was associated with the reduction in PTC stages (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The research underscores the potential benefits of increased daily walking steps, suggesting that they may play a protective role in reducing PTC risk and moderating its progression. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(1):58-71.

Comparison of the efficacy of different frequency electroacupuncture in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome patients with abdominal obesity. / ä¸åŒé¢‘çŽ‡ç”µé’ˆæ²»ç–—è ¹éƒ¨è‚¥èƒ–åž‹å¤šå›Šåµå·¢ç»¼åˆå¾çš„ç–—æ•ˆæ¯”è¾ƒ.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of 2 Hz continuous wave and 2 Hz/100 Hz dilatational wave setting in electroacupuncture(EA) on ovulation frequency, hormone levels, body fat parameters, quality of life and depression-anxiety level in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients with abdominal obesity. METHODS: PCOS patients with abdominal obesity were randomly divided into low-frequency group (n=29) and dilatational wave group (n=29). Patients in both groups were treated with "Tongtiaodaimai" (regulating Dai Meridian) acupuncture therapy, and EA was applied to bilateral Daimai (GB26), Tianshu (ST25), Shenshu (BL23) and Ciliao (BL32). The low-frequency group received EA using a continuous wave at a frequency of 2 Hz, while the dilatational wave group received dilatational wave at a frequency of 2 Hz/100 Hz. Both groups received treatment for 30 min each time, 3 times per week for 12 consecutive weeks. Ovulation frequency was calculated according to the ovulation cycle. The contents of serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were detected with electrochemiluminescence method. Body weight (BW) and waist circumference (WC) were measured, and body mass index (BMI) and waist-height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. PCOS questionnaire (Chi-PCOSQ), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with before treatment, both the low-frequency group and the dilatational wave group showed an increase in ovulation frequency (P<0.01, P<0.05), and a decrease in BW, BMI, WC, WHtR, and SDS score (P<0.01, P<0.05)；the dilatational wave group showed decreased serum AMH contents (P<0.05) and increased serum SHBG contents (P<0.05), the scores related to acne, fatigue, and dysmenorrhea in the Chi-PCOSQ increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the low-frequency group, the dilatational wave group showed a reduction (P<0.05) in WC after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: 2 Hz/100 Hz dilatational wave EA is equally effective as 2 Hz low-frequency EA in improving ovulation frequency. In terms of reducing WC in abdominal obesity type PCOS patients, 2 Hz/100 Hz dilatational wave EA is superior to 2 Hz low-frequency EA. 2 Hz/100 Hz dilatational wave EA can decrease serum AMH, increase serum SHBG, and improve symptoms of acne, fatigue, and dysmenorrhea.

Novel Sulfonylurea Derivatives as Potential Antimicrobial Agents: Chemical Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Computational Study.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a worldwide health threat and has already tormented humanity during its long history, creating an urgent need for the development of new classes of antibacterial agents. In this study, twenty-one novel sulfonylurea derivatives containing phenyl-5-vinyl and pyrimidinyl-4-aryl moieties were designed and synthesized, among which, nine compounds exhibited inhibitory potencies against Gram-positive bacterial strains: MRSA (Chaoyang clinical isolates), S. aureus ATCC6538, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci-309 (VRE-309), and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633. Especially, 9i and 9q demonstrated inhibitory activities against the four bacterial strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.78-1.56 µg/mL, and quite a few of other MRSA clinical strains with MICs of 0.78 µg/mL, superior to those of the positive controls vancomycin (MIC of 1 µg/mL) and methicillin (MIC of >200 µg/mL). This is the very first time that sulfonylurea derivatives have been identified as promising inhibitors against different MRSA clinical isolates. In addition, all the MIC values of the synthesized compounds against Candida albicans were greater than 100 µg/mL. Since the reported anti-Candida activities of sulfonylureas were due to acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) inhibition, the molecular target against MRSA for the target sulfonylureas was thought to be a different mode of action. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were finally performed to understand the structure-activity relationships, based on which, significant differences were observed between their HOMO maps for compounds with strong antibacterial activities and weak anti-MRSA effects. The present results hence provide valuable guidance for the discovery of novel agents to treat bacterial infections, especially against MRSA.

Acute toxicity test of the Li-Dan-He-Ji granules / 中华危重病急救医学

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the acute toxic reaction of the Li-Dan-He-Ji granules, and to evaluate its safety.@*METHODS@#Sixty C57BL6/J mice were randomly divided into normal control group, vehicle group and drug treatment group, with 10 females and 10 males in each group. According to the Technical guidelines for the study of toxicity of single drug administration, the maximum administration dosage (MAD) was used to intragastric administration of Li-Dan-He-Ji granules 0.04 mL/g (42.8 g/kg), three times within 24 hours, with an interval of 6 hours. The vehicle group was fed with the same pure water. The normal control group received no treatment. The mice were observed continuously for 14 days, and the appearance characteristics, behavioral activities, body weight changes and the number of deaths in each group were recorded. At the 14 days, blood samples were collected from the eyeballs, and routine blood tests such as white blood cell count (WBC), lymphocyte count (LYM), neutrophil count (NEU), lymphocyte percentage (LYM%), neutrophil percentage (NEU%), red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), and platelet count (PLT) were performed. And alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and other biochemical indicators. The mice were then sacrificed, and the histopathological changes of liver and kidney were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The organ indexes of heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and thymus were calculated.@*RESULTS@#The median lethal dose (LD50) of Li-Dan-He-Ji granules were not obtained. During the MAD experiment, the animals in each group did not die, their behavioral activities were normal, and there was no significant change in liver and kidney histopathological examination. There were no significant differences in body weight, blood routine, biochemical indexes and organ index among all groups (all P > 0.05). The body weight (g) of normal control female and male group, vehicle female and male group and drug female and male group before administration were 18.96±1.14, 19.65±1.45, 19.33±1.30, 19.53±1.22, 19.28±1.69 and 19.48±1.28; 14 days after administration were 27.69±0.81, 28.19±2.22, 27.77±1.00, 27.88±1.85, 27.92±1.33 and 28.07±1.93, respectively.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The Li-Dan-He-Ji granules have low oral toxicity, combined with clinical observation, can be safely used in infants.

The expression and biological effect of NR2F6 in non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the expression and effect of the nuclear receptor subfamily 2 group F member 6 (NR2F6) gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and provide an experimental basis for the targeted therapy of NSCLC. Method: First, the expression of NR2F6 in lung cancer tissues was analyzed using the Gene Expression Omnibus and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases, and the expression of NR2F6 in lung cancer tissues and cells was verified by Western blotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Next, the relationship between NR2F6 expression and the clinicopathological features of lung cancer was analyzed via immunohistochemistry, and the relationship between NR2F6 expression and prognosis was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier Plotter. The influence of NR2F6 knockdown on the proliferation capacity of lung cancer cells was then verified at cell level. Finally, the expression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D (HNRNPD) in lung cancer tissue was analyzed using the TCGA database and immunohistochemistry. The impact of HNRNPD knockdown on the proliferation capacity of lung cancer cells was verified at cell level, and the relationship between NR2F6 and HNRNPD was verified by co-immunoprecipitation. Results: NR2F6 was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues and cells, and its expression was positively correlated with the depth of invasion, lymphatic metastasis, and clinical stage of lung cancer. High expression of NR2F6 in lung cancer was also significantly associated with poor prognosis. At cell level, NR2F6 knockdown was found to inhibit the proliferation of H460 and H358 in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, the TCGA database and immunohistochemical results showed that HNRNPD was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues and was highly consistent with NR2F6 expression in these tissues. Knockdown of HNRNPD also inhibited the proliferation of lung cancer cells. The co-immunoprecipitation experiment verified that NR2F6 interacted with HNRNPD. Conclusion: NR2F6 may interact with HNRNPD to jointly regulate the progression of lung cancer, and this conclusion provides a new experimental basis for the study of the molecular targeted therapy of NSCLC.

Protection of Exogenous Phosphocreatine for Myocardium in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Related to Inflammation.

OBJECTIVES: Although injury of myocardium after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been reported, the mechanism and effect of exogenous phosphocreatine (PCr) supplementation on the injury are yet to be elucidated. Biomarkers, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and variations in white blood cells for inflammation, and serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) for myocardial injury are examined. METHODS: A total of 105 patients undergoing PCI were included and randomly divided into two groups: control (treated with routine hydration therapy) and PCr (treated with additional intravenous infusion of exogenous PCr). The serum levels of biomarkers were detected at administration and 4, 12, 24, and 48 h after PCI, with natural logarithmic (loge) transformation of data when modeling assumptions were not fulfilled. RESULTS: The level of loge-transformed IL-6 increased in both groups, especially at 12 and 24 h after the operation, and that of PCr group was less than the control group at 48 h. The content of loge-transformed cTnI was significantly increased in both groups, while that of the PCr group was markedly lower than the control group at all time points after PCI. Moreover, the ratio of neutrophils was elevated at all time points after PCI, while that of the PCr group was lower at 48 h, and the variations in the ratio of lymphocytes showed opposite results. CONCLUSIONS: Exogenous phosphocreatine reduces stent implantation, triggers inflammation manifested as decreased serum levels of IL-6 and the aggregation of neutrophils, and protects the myocardium of the patients undergoing PCI. These findings provided the potential mechanism and treatment for myocardial injury associated with PCI.

Analysis on Technical Problems and Countermeasures of Standard Formulation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula Granules / 中国实验方剂学杂志

After the completion of the pilot work of traditional Chinese medicine formula granules （TCMFGs）， the national and provincial medical products administrations have published and implemented about 440 varieties of TCMFGs standards. Based on the previous work， this paper analyzed technical problems encountered in the review and evaluation of Shandong TCMFGs standards， mainly involving the executive standards and distinguishing technologies of raw materials， the adding process of excipients in the procedure item， the rationality of quality control methods， the information content and reproducibility of characteristic chromatograms， the nomenclature and accessibility of reference materials， etc. The common problems such as the coverage of standards， specification differences， and the integrity of quality control items of current TCMFGs standards were discussed deeply. It is proposed to promote the upgrading of provincial standards to national standards， accelerate the research and development of reference materials， advocate the use of high-quality raw materials， explore the evaluation methods of high-quality products， and strengthen the quality supervision of the whole process. Suggestions of this paper is hoped to provide references for the formulation of national and provincial TCMFGs standards， promote the continuous improvement of TCMFGs standard system， and ensure the healthy and orderly development of the TCMFGs industry.

Sesquiterpenes and polyphenols with glucose-uptake stimulatory and antioxidant activities from the medicinal mushroom Sanghuangporus sanghuang.

A chemical investigation on the fermentation products of Sanghuangporus sanghuang led to the isolation and identification of fourteen secondary metabolites (1-14) including eight sesquiterpenoids (1-8) and six polyphenols (9-14). Compounds 1-3 were sesquiterpenes with new structures which were elucidated based on NMR spectroscopy, high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. All the isolates were tested for their stimulation effects on glucose uptake in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells, and cellular antioxidant activity. Compounds 9-12 were subjected to molecular docking experiment to primarily evaluate their anti-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) activity. As a result, compounds 9-12 were found to increase the glucose uptake of insulin-resistant HepG2 cells by 18.1%, 62.7%, 33.7% and 21.4% at the dose of 50 µmol·L-1, respectively. Compounds 9-12 also showed good cellular antioxidant activities with CAA50 values of 12.23, 23.11, 5.31 and 16.04 µmol·L-1, respectively. Molecular docking between COVID-19 Mpro and compounds 9-12 indicated potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitory activity of these four compounds. This work provides new insights for the potential role of the medicinal mushroom S. sanghuang as drugs and functional foods.

Overexpression of mm9_circ_013935 alleviates renal inflammation and fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy via the miR-153-3p/NFIC axis.

Circ-RBM4 (mm9_circ_013935) has been revealed to have low expression in the renal tissues of diabetic nephropathy (DN) mice, and its underlying regulatory mechanism remains unexplored. The high glucose (HG) - treated mouse podocytes were used to establish DN cell models. A cell counting kit-8 assay was used to examine the viability of mouse podocytes. The expression of proteins related to fibrosis (collagen I, collagen III, fibronectin) was detected using Western blot. The concentration of inflammation cytokines (tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß), IL-8) in mouse podocytes was assessed by ELISA. The interaction between genes was explored by luciferase reporter assays. HG treatment decreased the viability and elevated the expression of fibrosis and inflammation factors in mouse podocytes. Circ-RBM4 expression was downregulated in HG-treated mouse podocytes. Circ-RBM4 overexpression reversed HG-induced increase in levels of proteins related to fibrosis and the concentration of inflammation factors. The miR-153-3p was revealed to bind with circ-RBM4 and directly targeted nuclear factor I/C (NFIC) in mouse podocytes. Rescue assays indicated that circ-RBM4 attenuated HG-induced fibrosis and inflammation response in mouse podocytes by inhibiting miR-153-3p expression or upregulating NFIC expression. Circ-RBM4 alleviated the renal inflammation and renal fibrosis in DN by targeting the miR-153-3p/NFIC axis.

Soil pH has a stronger effect than arsenic content on shaping plastisphere bacterial communities in soil.

Microplastic (MP) pollution is widespread in various ecosystems and is colonized by microbes that form biofilms with compositions and functions. However, compared with aquatic environments, the soil environment has been poorly studied in terms of the taxonomic composition of microbial communities and the factors influencing the community structure of microbes in the plastisphere. In the present study, a microcosm experiment was conducted to investigate the plastisphere bacterial communities of MP (polyvinyl chloride, PVC) in soils with different pH (4.62, 6.5, and 7.46) and arsenic (As) contents (13 and 74 mg kg-1). Bacterial communities in the plastisphere were dominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, with distinct compositions and structures compared with soil bacterial communities. Soil pH and As content significantly affected the plastisphere bacterial communities. Constrained analysis of principal coordinates and a structural equation model demonstrated that soil pH had a stronger influence on the dissimilarity and diversity of bacterial communities than did soil As content. Soil pH affected As speciation in soil and on MP. The concentration of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) was significantly higher on MP than that in soil, indicating that As methylation occurred on MP. These results suggest that environmental fluctuations govern plastisphere bacterial communities with cascading effects on biogeochemical cycling of As in the soil ecosystems.

Distinct patterns of abundant and rare subcommunities in paddy soil during wetting-drying cycles.

Wetting-drying cycles typically result in a wide range of soil moistures and redox potentials (Eh) that significantly affect the soil microbial community. Although numerous studies have addressed the effects of soil moisture on soil microbial community structure and composition, the response of active microbes to the fluctuation in soil Eh is still largely unknown; this is especially true for the ecological roles of abundant and rare taxa. To explore the dynamics of active and total microbial communities in response to wetting-drying cycles, we conducted a microcosm experiment based on three wetting-drying cycles and 16S rRNA transcript (active) and 16S rRNA gene (total) amplicon sequencing. We found that both active and total microbial communities during three wetting-drying cycles were clustered according to the number of wetting-drying cycles (temporal factor) rather than soil moisture or Eh. Dynamics of the active microbial community, however, were redox dependent during the first wetting-drying cycle. In addition, rare taxa in the active microbial community exhibited more obvious differences than abundant ones during three wetting-drying cycles. Species turnover of abundant and rare taxa of total and active microbes, rather than species richness, explained the highest percentage of community variation. Rare taxa exhibited the most marked temporal turnover during three wetting-drying cycles. Members of Rhodospirillaceae were the major contributor to the resilience of abundant taxa of active microbes during the first wetting-drying cycle. Overall, these findings expand our current understanding of underlying assembly mechanisms of soil microbial communities responding to wetting-drying cycles.

Synergistic Inhibition of Renal Fibrosis by Nintedanib and Gefitinib in a Murine Model of Obstructive Nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Our recent studies demonstrated that both nintedanib, an FDA-approved quadruple kinase inhibitor, and gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, protect against obstructive kidney disease. It remains unknown whether they have a synergistic effect. METHODS: In this study, we investigated the effect of combined administration of nintedanib and gefitinib on renal fibrosis in a murine model of renal fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). RESULTS: Combined treatment with nintedanib and gefitinib after UUO resulted in a greater antifibrotic effect compared with their individual application. Mechanistically, administration of nintedanib blocked UUO-induced phosphorylation of multiple kinase receptors associated renal fibrosis, including platelet-derived growth factor receptors, fibroblast growth factor receptors, vascular endothelial growth factor receptors, and Src family kinase, while gefitinib inhibited EGFR phosphorylation. Their combination also exhibited a more pronounced effect in reducing expression of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2), increasing expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and suppressing renal proinflammatory cytokine expression and macrophage infiltration in the injured kidney. Furthermore, simultaneous administration of nintedanib and gefitinib was more potent in inhibiting UUO-induced renal phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3), nuclear factor-κB, and Smad-3 compared with monotherapy. In cultured renal interstitial fibroblasts, cotreatment with these 2 inhibitors also had synergistic effects in abrogating transforming growth factor ß1-induced activation of renal fibroblasts and phosphorylation of Akt, STAT3, and Smad3. CONCLUSIONS: Combined application of nintedanib and gefitinib has a synergistic antifibrotic effect in the kidney and may hold translational potential for the treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Distribution of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria along an engineered coastal ecosystem in subtropical China.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) are the crucial players in nitrogen cycle. Both AOA and AOB were examined along a gradient of human activity in a coastal ecosystem from intertidal zone, grassland, and Casuarina equisetifolia forest to farmland. Results showed that the farmland soils had noticeably higher nitrate-N, available P than soils in the other three sites. Generally, AOA and AOB community structures varied across sites. The farmland mainly had Nitrosotalea-like AOA, intertidal zone was dominated by Nitrosopumilus AOA, while grassland and C. equisetifolia forest primarily harbored Nitrososphaera-like AOA. The farmland and C. equisetifolia forest owned Nitrosospira-like AOB, intertidal zone possessed Nitrosomonas-like AOB, and no AOB was detected in the grassland. AOA abundance was significantly greater than AOB in this coastal ecosystem (p < 0.05, n = 8). AOB diversity and abundance in the farmland were significantly higher than those in the other three sites (p < 0.05, n = 2). The biodiversity and abundance of AOA were not significantly correlated with any soil property (p < 0.05, n = 8). However, the diversity of AOB was significantly correlated with pH, available P and total P (p < 0.05, n = 6). The abundance of AOB was significantly correlated with pH, nitrite, available N, available P and total P (p < 0.05, n = 6). This study suggested that the community structures of AOA and AOB vary in the different parts in the bio-engineered coastal ecosystem and agricultural activity appears to influence these nitrifiers.

Research progress on preclinical efficacy evaluation of COVID-19 complicated with cytokine storm / 中国药理学通报

Studies have shown that COVID-19 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have severe pulmonary inflammation and cytokine storm, so the treatment of cytokine storm is an important part of rescuing critically ill patients with COVID-19. As an important cause of death, the preclinical study of cytokine storm is essential, and related experiments in vivo and in vitro are also the only way to develop new drugs for COVID-19 in the future. This paper reviews the in vitro and in vivo experimental methods of cytokine storm research articles at home and abroad in recent years, including the establishment of animal models, cell evaluation methods, pharmacodynamic evaluation indicators, etc., in order to provide reference and guidance for the experimental design methods of cytokine storm.

Neurological Diseases Responding Specifically to Traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

In recent years， the incidence of neurological diseases has been increasing year by year. To give full play to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in the treatment of neurological disorders， identify the breakthrough point of integrating TCM with western medicine， and further standardize the clinical diagnosis and treatment of TCM， the China Association of Chinese Medicine organized neurologists in TCM and western medicine to carry out in-depth discussion on the neurological diseases responding specifically to TCM and integrated TCM and western medicine， such as stroke， headache， vertigo， multiple sclerosis， and epilepsy， aiming to formulate a well-recognized and integrated treatment protocol for TCM and western medicine and improve the efficacy of neurological disorders. Furthermore， the treatment suggestions of the corresponding diseases in TCM and western medicine were proposed to provide references for clinical practice and scientific research.

Sesquiterpenes and polyphenols with glucose-uptake stimulatory and antioxidant activities from the medicinal mushroom Sanghuangporus sanghuang / 中国天然药物

A chemical investigation on the fermentation products of Sanghuangporus sanghuang led to the isolation and identification of fourteen secondary metabolites (1-14) including eight sesquiterpenoids (1-8) and six polyphenols (9-14). Compounds 1-3 were sesquiterpenes with new structures which were elucidated based on NMR spectroscopy, high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. All the isolates were tested for their stimulation effects on glucose uptake in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells, and cellular antioxidant activity. Compounds 9-12 were subjected to molecular docking experiment to primarily evaluate their anti-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) activity. As a result, compounds 9-12 were found to increase the glucose uptake of insulin-resistant HepG2 cells by 18.1%, 62.7%, 33.7% and 21.4% at the dose of 50 μmol·L

High-throughput diagnosis of human pathogens and fecal contamination in marine recreational water.

Waterborne pathogens and their associated diseases are major threats to public health, and surveillance of pathogens and identification of the sources of pollution are imperative for preventing infections. However, simultaneously quantitative detection of multiple pathogens and pollution sources in water environments is the major challenge. In this study, we developed and validated a highly sensitive (mostly >80%) and highly specific (>99%) high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR) approach, which could simultaneously quantify 68 marker genes of 33 human pathogens and 23 fecal markers of 10 hosts. The HT-qPCR approach was then successfully used to investigate pathogens and fecal pollution in marine recreational water samples of Xiamen, China. Totally, seven pathogenic marker genes were found in 13 beach bathing waters, which targeted Acanthamoeba spp., Clostridium perfringens, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio cholera/V. parahaemolyticus and Legionella spp.. Fecal markers from human and dog were the most frequently detected, indicating human and dog feces were the main contamination in the recreational waters. Nanopore sequencing of full-length 16S rRNA gene revealed that 28 potential human pathogens were detected and electrical conductivity, salinity, oxidation-reduction potential and dissolved oxygen were significantly correlated with the variation in bacterial community. Our results demonstrated that HT-qPCR approach had the potential rapid quantification of microbial contamination, providing useful data for assessment of microbial pathogen associated health risk and development of management practices to protect human health.

New meroterpenoid compounds from the culture of mushroom Panus lecomtei.

Two new meroterpenoid compounds (1 and 2) together with five known meroterpenoid derivatives (3-7) were isolated from solid culture of mushroom Panus lecomtei. The structures of new compounds were confirmed by the analysis of NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic data. The biosynthetic pathway of 1-7 was postulated. All isolated compounds were evaluated for antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Compound 3 exhibited weak antibacterial activity against Bacillus Calmette-Guérin with the inhibition rate of 83.6% at 100 µmol·L-1. Other compounds showed no antibacterial activities against all tested pathogens at 100 µmol·L-1.