[Mechanism of Cyathulae Radix in treatment of knee osteoarthritis based on metabolomics].

Metabolomics based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was employed to analyze the effect of Cyathulae Radix on serum and urine in rats with knee osteoarthritis, and to decipher the mechanism of Cyathulae Radix in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. SD rats were randomized into a normal group, a model group, a positive drug group, and a Cyathulae Radix group. The knee osteoarthritis model was established by injecting 2% pa-pain and 0.03 mol·L~(-1) cysteine, and the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and matrix metalloproteinase-3(MMP-3) in the model group was measured to preliminarily evaluate the therapeutic effect of Cyathulae Radix on knee osteoarthritis. UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS was employed to establish the metabolic profile of endogenous small molecule metabolites in the four groups. Potential biomarkers were screened out by multivariate analysis methods such as partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) in combination with t-test, variable importance for projection(VIP), and fold-change. The related metabolic pathways were enriched with the help of MetaboAnalyst 5.0. The results showed that Cyathulae Radix alleviated the general signs of rats with knee osteoarthritis, and reduced the levels of TNF-α and MMP-3 in the rat serum. Twenty-eight differential metabolites that might be associated with the therapeutic effect of Cyathulae Radix were screened out from serum and urine. They were mainly involved in arginine biosynthesis, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, riboflavin metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, and pyrimidine metabolism. Through metabonomics analysis, this study predicted the possible mechanism of Cyathulae Radix in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, which laid a foundation for further research.

Bacterial growth efficiency in a partly eutrophicated bay of South China Sea: Implication for anthropogenic impacts and potential hypoxia events.

Bacterial metabolism plays a dual role [bacterial production (BP) and bacterial respiration (BR)] in the aquatic ecosystem and potentially leads to hypoxia in the coastal eutrophic area. Bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) is an important index showing the contribution of bacterial metabolism to marine biological production and carbon budget in the pelagic ecosystem. In this study, the spatial and seasonal variety as well as diurnal variation dynamics of BGE and associated ecological characteristics were investigated in a partly eutrophicated subtropical bay (the Daya Bay) located in the northern South China Sea. Furthermore, the relationship between bacterial metabolism and potential hypoxia event was analyzed. The average BGE was 0.14 and 0.22 in summer and winter, respectively, which was lower than the mean value ever reported in other coastal and estuarine waters. The diurnal variations of BGE and BP were widely fluctuated in the Daya Bay, with approximately 3-8 fold variation of BP and 2-3 fold variation of BR in different seasons, suggesting the importance of short-term ecological dynamics on evaluating the long-term ecological processes in the coastal waters. BR was the predominant contributor to the bacterial carbon demand; however, the variation of BGE was controlled by BP in both seasons. BGE was always high in the near-shore waters with higher eutrophic level and more active BP and BR. The bacterial metabolism could deplete dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Daya bay within about 9 days when the water body was enclosed and photosynthesis was prohibited. Therefore, low DO concentration and potential hypoxia was more likely to be found in the near-shore waters of the Daya Bay in summer, since the water was stratified and enclosed with poor water exchange capacity in this area. While in winter, hypoxia seldom occurred due to vertical mixing throughout the water column. Further biological-physical coupling research is recommended to find out the detailed formation mechanism of hypoxia in the bay, and to predict the potential hypoxia events and their environmental impacts in the future.

MRI diagnosis of perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) of the liver.

INTRODUCTION: Perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) has been rarely reported in the liver. PATIENT, METHODS AND RESULTS: We present a liver PEComa case diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. The patient was incidentally found to have an abnormal mass in the liver. MRI revealed early and strikingly homogeneous enhancement of the lesion. Partial hepatectomy was performed, and a pathological examination revealed signs of typical of PEComa. The patient was closely monitored for 12 months after the surgery, with no clinical or radiographic evidence of recurrence or metastatic disease. CONCLUSION: MRI diagnosis is applicable for PEComa.

[Characteristics of net phytoplankton community and their relationships to environmental factors in the waters around Nansha Islands].

Based on samples collected in the waters around Nansha Islands from August 25 to September 28, 2011, the characteristics of net phytoplankton community and their relationships to environmental factors were investigated. A total of 113 species, belonging to 34 genera of 3 phyla were identified, among which 57.5% belonged to Pyrrophyta and 40.7% belonged to Bacillariophyta. Ceratium in Pyrrophyta had the most species accounting for 30.1% of the 113 species. The average abundance of net phytoplankton was 2.12 x 10(4) cell x m(-3) and high abundances were encountered in the complex gyre adjacent to Reed Tablemount and in the Cyclonic Gyre adjacent to Wan'an Tan. Trichodesmium in Cyanophyta was the dominant functional group, taking up 77.0% of the total net phytoplankton abundance. Trichodesmium thiebautii, T. erythraeum and Pyrocystis noctiluca were the major dominant species. The dominant species varied with locations. Cyanophyta widely dominated at stations 3, 5, 6 and 10-14, Pyrrophyta were the dominant phytoplankton in the central locations at stations 4 and 7-9, while Bacillariophyta dominated only at the southernmost stations 1 and 2. The values of Shannon index and Pielou evenness index of net phytoplankton community were 3.10 and 0.62, respectively. The salinity, water temperature, contents of ammonium, nitrite, phosphate and silicate, as well as mesoscale gyres and the west Nansha coastal current were the important environmental factors affecting the characteristics of net phytoplankton community. The ordination plots by canonical correspondence analysis could well display the characteristics of net phytoplankton community and their relationships to environmental factors.