LC/MS-guided isolation and GNPS procedures to identify flavonoid of HCoV-OC43 inhibitors.

The screening of based target compounds supported by LC/MS, MS/MS and Global Natural Products Social (GNPS) used to identify the compounds 1-10 of Butea monsperma. They were evaluated in human malignant embryonic rhabdomyoma cells (RD cells) infected with Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) and showed significant inhibitory activity. Target inhibition tests showed that compounds 6 and 8 inhibited the proteolytic enzyme 3CLpro, which is widely present in coronavirus and plays an important role in the replication process, with an effective IC50 value. The study confirmed that dioxymethylene of compound 8 may be a key active fragment in inhibiting coronavirus (EC50 7.2 µM, SI > 139.1). The results have led to identifying natural bioactive compounds for possible inhibiting HCoV-OC43 and developing drug for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

[Cd Balance Analysis of a Typical Rice Paddy System in Central Hunan].

By conducting field positioning experiments, we studied the development trend of Cd pollution in a typical paddy system. The samples of atmospheric deposition and irrigation water were collected monthly from November 2015 to November 2018 during which fertilizer, soil, and rice samples were also collected. The Cd concentration in the samples was monitored and analyzed to conduct research on the balance between Cd inputs and outputs in a typical paddy system in Hunan Province. The results suggest that through irrigation water, atmospheric deposition and fertilizer, the average annual input of Cd in the paddy field system is 8.735 g·(hm2·a)-1, of which atmospheric deposition, the major source, accounts for 69.15%-82.04% of the total input, with an average of 76.61%. This is followed by irrigation water and fertilizer, respectively, accounting for 12.62%-23.66% and 5.34%-7.19%, with an average of 16.94% and 6.45%, respectively. Through surface runoff, soil infiltration and the rice harvest of the aboveground portion, the annual average output of Cd contained in the paddy system is 7.093 g·(hm2·a)-1. Rice harvest accounts for 85.27%-95.02% of the total output, with an average of 89.69%; surface runoff accounted for 4.57%-13.96% of the total output, with an average of 9.41%; and soil infiltration accounted for 0.41%-1.51% of the total output, with an average of 0.90%. The study indicates that Cd contained in paddy systems in Central Hunan exhibits a net input, and the soil Cd pollution is increasing as a result. Straw returning and straw removal have an important impact on the soil Cd balance, and straw removal can slow the trend of soil Cd pollution accumulation.

[Differences in Cd Accumulation in Typical Soils Under the Double Rice System].

Pot experiments were used to study the differences of Cd uptake and accumulation in double-cropping rice in typical soil types. To analyze the soil availability of Cd (DTPA-Cd) in soils and the Cd accumulation in double-cropping rice at different growth stages of the rice, we conducted pot experiments that selected the yellow clayey soil (paddy soil developed from plate shaley parent materials) and the granitic sandy soil (paddy soil developed from granitic parent materials). Exogenous Cd was added with gradients of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0 mg·kg-1. Results showed that, during the rice growth period, the available Cd in the yellow clayey soil was higher than that in the granitic sandy soil, and the difference was significant (P<0.01). This showed that the content of Cd in rice (roots, shoots, leaves, rice shells, and brown rice) increased along with the treatment level and with the extension of the rice growth period. The accumulation characteristics of Cd in rice grains and other tissues of rice indicated differences between two seasons and two soil types, that is, late rice was higher in Cd than was early rice, and reddish yellow clayey soil was higher in Cd than granitic sandy soil. Significant positive linear correlations were found between the effective contents of Cd in soils and those in rice tissues (roots, shoots, leaves, and brown rice). The prediction model of Cd in rice and the characteristic equation for rice accumulation of Cd were applied to calculate the critical values of Cd:0.98 mg·kg-1 for early rice and 0.83 mg·kg-1 for late rice in reddish yellow clayey soil, and 0.86 mg·kg-1 for early rice and 0.56 mg·kg-1 for late rice in granitic sandy soil. These threshold values are higher than the National Standards given in "farmland environmental quality evaluation standards for edible agricultural products (HJ 332-2006)." The soil security threshold values and the soil environmental capacities of the two different parent materials varied greatly; therefore, different environmental quality standards may be formulated and different measures may be needed to control Cd pollution in different parent materials.

Clinical and immunopathological features of patients with lupus hepatitis.

BACKGROUND: Lupus hepatitis is yet to be characterized based on its clinical features and is often difficult to differentially diagnose from other liver diseases. We aimed to elucidate clinical, histopathological and immunopathological features of lupus hepatitis and to evaluate primarily the effectiveness of liver immunopathological manifestations on differential diagnosis of lupus hepatitis from other liver diseases. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed to analyze clinical features of lupus hepatitis in 47 patients out of 504 inpatients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, China from May 2006 to July 2009, and to evaluate the association between lupus hepatitis and SLE activity. Additionally, liver histopathological changes by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and immunopathological changes by direct immunofluorescence test in 10 lupus hepatitis cases were analyzed and compared to those in 16 patients with other liver diseases in a prospective study. RESULTS: Of 504 SLE patients, 47 patients (9.3%) were diagnosed to have lupus hepatitis. The prevalence of lupus hepatitis in patients with active SLE was higher than that in those with inactive SLE (11.8% vs. 3.2%, P < 0.05). The incidence of hematological abnormalities in patients with lupus hepatitis was higher than that in those without lupus hepatitis (40.4% vs. 21.7%, P < 0.05), such as leucocytes count (2.92×10(9)/L vs. 5.48×10(9)/L), platelets count (151×10(9)/L vs. 190×10(9)/L), serum C3 and C4 (0.34 g/L vs. 0.53 g/L; 0.06 g/L vs. 0.09 g/L) (P < 0.05); 45 of 47 (95.7%) lupus hepatitis patients showed 1 upper limit of normal (ULN) < serum ALT level < 5 ULN. The liver histopathological features in patients with lupus hepatitis were miscellaneous and non-specific, similar to those in other liver diseases, but liver immunopathological features showed positive intense deposits of complement 1q in 7/10 patients with lupus hepatitis and negative complement 1q deposits in all patients with other liver diseases (Fisher's exact test, P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Lupus hepatitis was not infrequent in active SLE patients which would be one of the indices indicating SLE activity. Positive intense deposit of complement 1q in liver may be a characteristic immunopathological feature of lupus hepatitis, which provides a new way to differentially diagnose lupus hepatitis from other liver diseases.

Deep cholestatic jaundice as the predominant manifestation in autoimmune hepatitis.

Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic liver disease of unknown etiology. The diagnosis is based on the exclusion of other liver diseases such as drug-induced liver disease, alcohol liver disease, viral liver diseases and so on, characterizing by elevation of transaminases, hypergammaglobulinemia, auto antibodies and the histological features of interface hepatitis and plasma cells infiltration. However, deep cholestatic jaundice as the initial presentation, with elevated serum transaminases one month later, is rare in autoimmune hepatitis. We described a case of type 1 autoimmune hepatitis with deep cholestatic jaundice and hyperbilirubinemia as the initial predominant manifestation. It demonstrated that the cholestasis can also occur as the initial predominant syndrome in autoimmune hepatitis and respond well to the treatment with the glycyrrhizin and ursodeoxycholic acid.