miR-124 and VAMP3 Act Antagonistically in Human Neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor that affects developing nerve cells in the fetus, infants, and children. miR-124 is a microRNA (miRNA) enriched in neuronal tissues, and VAMP3 (vesicle-associated membrane protein 3) has been reported to be an miR-124 target, although the relationship between NB and miR-124 or VAMP3 is unknown. Our current work identified that miR-124 levels are high in NB cases and that elevated miR-124 correlates with worse NB outcomes. Conversely, depressed VAMP3 correlates with worse NB outcomes. To investigate the mechanisms by which miR-124 and VAMP3 regulate NB, we altered miR-124 or VAMP3 expression in human NB cells and observed that increased miR-124 and reduced VAMP3 stimulated cell proliferation and suppressed apoptosis, while increased VAMP3 had the opposite effects. Genome-wide mRNA expression analyses identified gene and pathway changes which might explain the NB cell phenotypes. Together, our studies suggest that miR-124 and VAMP3 could be potential new markers of NB and targets of NB treatments.

Two complementary genes in a presence-absence variation contribute to indica-japonica reproductive isolation in rice.

Understanding the evolutionary forces in speciation is a central goal in evolutionary biology. Asian cultivated rice has two subspecies, indica and japonica, but the underlying mechanism of the partial reproductive isolation between them remains obscure. Here we show a presence-absence variation (PAV) at the Se locus functions as an indica-japonica reproductive barrier by causing hybrid sterility (HS) in indica-japonica crosses. The locus comprises two adjacent genes: ORF3 encodes a sporophytic pollen killer, whereas ORF4 protects pollen in a gametophytic manner. In F1 of indica-japonica crosses, pollen with the japonica haplotype, which lacks the sequence containing the protective ORF4, is aborted due to the pollen-killing effect of ORF3 from indica. Evolutionary analysis suggests ORF3 is a gene associated with the Asian cultivated rice species complex, and the PAV has contributed to the reproductive isolation between the two subspecies of Asian cultivated rice. Our analyses provide perspectives on rice inter-subspecies post-zygotic isolation, and will promote efforts to overcome reproductive barriers in indica-japonica hybrid rice breeding.

The management and outcome of cryptococcosis in patients with different immune statuses and treatment protocols: A multicenter real-world study in Jiangsu Province - China.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of cryptococcosis is increasing in non-immunocompromised patients. However, the evidence on proper management is inadequate in this population. We conducted this multi-center real-world study in pulmonary cryptococcosis patients with different immune statuses, so as to provide practical evidence for optimized clinical management of cryptococcosis, especially for mild-to-moderate immunodeficient diseases patients. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study. The clinical data of patients with proven cryptococcosis were collected and analyzed from 7 tertiary teaching hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China from January, 2013 to December, 2018. Proven cases include pulmonary cryptococcosis, cryptococcal meningitis, cryptococcemia and cutaneous cryptococcosis. Patients were followed up over 24 months. According to their immune status, patients with cryptococcosis were divided into three groups, namely immunocompetent group (IC), mild-to-moderate immunodeficient diseases group (MID), severe immunodeficient diseases group (SID). Meanwhile, pulmonary crypotococcosis (PC) and extrapulmonary crypotococcosis (EPC) were also classified and analyzed. RESULTS: 255 proven cases of cryptococcosis were enrolled. Finally, 220 cases completed the follow-up. 143 proven cases (65.0%) were immunocompetent (IC), 41 cases (18.6%) were MID, and 36 cases (16.4%) were SID. 174 cases (79.1%) were PC and 46 cases (20.9%) were EPC. The mortality was significantly higher in SID and MID patients [47.2% (SID) vs. 12.2% (MID) vs. 0.0% (IC), p<0.001]. The mortality was also significantly higher in EPC patients [45.7% vs. 0.6% (PC), p<0.001]. Patients with alternative initial antifungal treatment had higher mortality than patients with guideline recommended initial treatment [23.1% vs. 9.5%, p=0.041]. In MID group, the mortality of receiving alternative initial antifungal treatment was significantly higher than recommended initial treatment [2/3 vs. 3/34(8.8%), p=0.043]. In pulmonary cryptococcosis patients with MID, the mortality was very similar to IC group [0.0% vs. 0.0% (IC)], lower than SID group [0.0% vs. 11.1% (SID), p=0.555]. However, in extrapulmonary cryptococcosis patients with MID, the mortality was significantly higher than that in IC [62.5% vs. 0.0% (IC)], and similar to SID patients [62.5% vs. 59.3% (SID)]. CONCLUSION: The immune status exert a significant influence on the management and prognosis of cryptococcosis patients. The mortality of cryptococcosis patients with MID is higher than that of immunocompetent patients. For MID patients with pure pulmonary cryptococcosis, it is acceptable to take the treatment recommended as IC patients. For the MID patients with extrapulmonary cryptococcosis, the mortality is high and the initial treatment should follow the regimen for SID patients. Following the recommended treatment regimen in the IDSA guideline can reduce mortality in patients with cryptococcosis. Starting on alternative initial antifungal treatment may bring worse outcomes.

Clinical Features, Treatment, and Outcome of Psittacosis Pneumonia: A Multicenter Study.

Background: We aimed to describe psittacosis pneumonia and risk factors for developing severe pneumonia in this multicenter clinical study. Methods: We collected the data of psittacosis pneumonia cases diagnosed with metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) assay from April 2018 to April 2022 in 15 tertiary hospitals in China. Results: A total of 122 patients were enrolled; 50.0% had a definite history of bird exposure. In 81.2% of cases, onset happened in autumn or winter. The common symptoms were fever (99.2%), cough (63.1%), fatigue (52.5%), shortness of breath (50.0%), chills (37.7%), central nervous system symptoms (36.9%), myalgia (29.5%), and gastrointestinal tract symptoms (15.6%). Laboratory tests showed that >70% of cases had elevated C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase, and >50% had hyponatremia and hypoproteinemia. The most common imaging finding was consolidation (71.3%), and 42.6% of cases met the criteria for severe pneumonia. Age >65 years and male sex were the risk factors for severe pneumonia. The effective proportion of patients treated with tetracyclines was higher than that of fluoroquinolones (66/69 [95.7%] vs 18/58 [31.0%]; P < .001), and the median defervescence time was shorter. After medication adjustment when the diagnosis was clarified, 119 of 122 (97.5%) patients were finally cured and the other 3 (2.5%) died. Conclusions: Psittacosis pneumonia has a high rate of severe disease. Proven diagnosis could be rapidly confirmed by mNGS. Tetracycline therapy had a rapid effect and a high cure rate.

The clinical value of Aspergillus-specific IgG antibody test in the diagnosis of nonneutropenic invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

OBJECTIVES: Aspergillus-specific IgG antibody (Asp IgG) has been successfully applied in the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. We explored its value in nonneutropenic invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) by a multicenter, prospective, and controlled study. METHODS: We enrolled 372 clinically suspected nonneutropenic patients with IPA from February 2015 to August 2022. After excluding 4 cases with Aspergillus colonization, the remaining 368 cases were finally confirmed as patients with IPA (n = 99), or non-IPA patients (n = 269) consisting of community-acquired pneumonia (n = 206), tuberculosis (n = 22), nontuberculous mycobacteria (n = 5), lung abscess (n = 6), or noninfectious diseases (n = 30). Asp IgG in plasma samples was tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: At cut-off value of ≥80 AU/mL, Asp IgG had much higher sensitivity (59.6% vs. 19.2%, p < 0.0001), but lower specificity (77.0% vs. 96.3%, p < 0.0001) than serum galactomannan (GM) (cut-off value of ≥1.0), and similar sensitivity (59.6% vs. 55.6%, p = 0.611) but lower specificity (77.0% vs. 91.2%, p = 0.001) than bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) GM (cut-off value of ≥1.0), respectively. Combination diagnosis of either positive for Asp IgG or BALF GM had higher sensitivity (81.0% vs. 55.6%, p = 0.002), but lower specificity (75.2% vs. 91.2%, p = 0.001) than BALF GM alone. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that Asp IgG had an optimal diagnostic value when the cut-off value was 56.6 AU/ml, and the sensitivity and specificity were 77.8% and 63.9%, respectively. DISCUSSIONS: The diagnostic value of Asp IgG for IPA is superior to serum GM, and a little inferior to BALF GM in nonneutropenic patients with IPA. Considering the convenience of taking blood samples, it is a good screening and diagnostic method for nonneutropenic patients with IPA, especially for those who cannot bear invasive procedures.

Gout of feet and ankles in different stages: The potentiality of a new semiquantitative DECT scoring system in monitoring urate deposition.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of a novel semi-quantitative dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) scoring system in monitoring urate deposition. This study included 287 patients with gout. All patients underwent ankle/foot DECT scans. DECT scores at different stages were compared and their diagnostic efficacies evaluated. Associations between DECT scores and clinical variables were evaluated. Gouts with positive DECT results in early, middle, and late stages were 78.5 %, 81.4 %, and 95.8 %, respectively (all P > .05). The total and ankle/midfoot DECT scores at different stages significantly increased with disease duration (all P < .05). DECT scores of 4 regions excluding the first metatarsophalangeal joint in early and middle stages were lower than those in late stage (all P < .05). DECT scores achieved excellent diagnostic performance for differentiating gout in early stage from middle and late stages (area under the curve, 0.923 and 0.949), with high sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value (all > 85 %). Total DECT score was highly positively correlated with the volume of urate crystals (R = 0.873, P < .001). Disease duration, serum uric acid level, bone erosion, and Achilles tendon involvement significantly affected total DECT scores (all P < .01). In conclusion, longer disease duration, higher serum uric acid levels, bone erosion, and Achilles tendon involvement were closely associated with total DECT scores. DECT scoring system may be an invaluable tool for gout diagnosis owing to its high detection efficacy and a surrogate method to evaluate the amount of urate crystals and erosion of surrounding tissues.

Kimura's disease successively affecting multiple body parts: a case-based literature review.

BACKGROUND: Kimura's disease is a rare, benign, chronic inflammatory disease that presents as painless, solid masses mainly affecting the deep subcutaneous areas of the head and neck, especially the salivary glands, parotid glands and nearby lymph nodes. It is characterized by elevated peripheral blood eosinophil and Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels. CASE PRESENTATION: A 31-year-old Asian male presented with an orbital space-occupying lesion lasting for 1.5 years. Ten years prior, surgical excision of bilateral fossa cubitalis and groin masses was performed, and the pathological examination showed "lymphoproliferative disease". One year later, masses reappeared near the surgical sites; they grew slowly and shrank after glucocorticoid treatment. At this point, admission examinations showed in the peripheral blood an eosinophil proportion of 13.4%, a total IgE level of 26,900.00 IU/mL, prurigo present on the whole body, and multiple palpable masses near the bilateral fossa cubitalis and groin. The left eyeball was exophthalmic. The left elbow mass was excised, and the pathological examination confirmed Kimura's disease. Oral glucocorticoid therapy is taken and tapering regularly. The eosinophil count returned to normal, the IgE level gradually decreased, the orbital space-occupying lesion and elbow and groin masses shrank significantly, and the whole-body skin prurigo disappeared. Currently, the patient has been in a stable condition for eighteen months. CONCLUSION: Our case provides a novel insight that Kimura's disease should be involved in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory lesion mass of orbit and also supports systemic regular glucocorticoid as a valuable therapy of such condition, but close follow-up and long-term observation are crucial.

Clinical Features, Diagnostic Test Performance, and Prognosis in Different Subtypes of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe clinical features in different subtypes of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA)-simple aspergilloma (SA), chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis (CCPA), chronic fibrosing pulmonary aspergillosis (CFPA), aspergillus nodule (AN), and subacute invasive aspergillosis (SAIA), respectively, and identify long-term prognosis of CPA. METHODS: We reviewed patients diagnosed with different subtypes of CPA from 2002 to 2020 at Nanjing Jinling Hospital, China. We analyzed the clinical and survival information of five different subgroups. A Cox regression model was used to explore proper antifungal duration and long-term survival factors of CCPA and SAIA. RESULTS: A total of 147 patients with CPA were included, consisting of 11 SA, 48 CCPA, 5 CFPA, 12 AN, and 71 SAIA. The most common underlying pulmonary disease was pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 49, 33%), followed by bronchiectasis (n = 46, 31.3%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or emphysema (n = 45, 30.6%), while in SAIA and CFPA groups, the most common was COPD or emphysema (45.1 and 100%). Cough (85%), expectoration (70.7%), hemoptysis (54.4%), and fever (29.9%) were common symptoms, especially in CCPA, CFPA, and SAIA groups. The common imaging manifestations included cavitation (n = 94, 63.9%), fungal ball (n = 54, 36.7%), pleural thickening (n = 47, 32.0%), and bronchiectasis (n = 46, 31.3%). SAIA and CFPA groups had a lower value of hemoglobin (HB) and serum albumin (ALB) with higher C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The positive rate of sputum culture, serum galactomannan (GM), and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid GM was 32.7% (36/110), 18.4% (18/98), and 48.7% (19/39), respectively. There were 64.6% (31/48) patients with CCPA and 25.4% (18/71) patients with SAIA who received surgery and the 5-year cumulative survival rate was 92.1 and 66.6%, respectively. SAIA, old age, male, low body mass index (BMI), COPD or emphysema, multiple distribution, low serum ALB, and positive sputum culture were adverse prognosis factors for SAIA and CCPA group, and BMI ≤ 20.0 kg/m2 was independently associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 5.311, 95% CI 1.405-20.068, p = 0.014). Multivariable Cox regression indicated that surgery (HR 0.093, 95% CI 0.011-0.814, p = 0.032) and antifungal duration >6 months (HR 0.204, 95% CI 0.060-0.696 p = 0.011) were related to improved survival. CONCLUSION: The clinical features and laboratory test performance are different among SA, CCPA, CFPA, AN, and SAIA. Low BMI was an independent risk factor for survival. Selective surgery and antifungal duration over 6 months were associated with improved survival.

Clinical features of cryptococcosis in patients with different immune statuses: a multicenter study in Jiangsu Province-China.

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines support different management of cryptococcosis between severely immunodeficient and immunocompetent populations. However, few studies have focused on cryptococcosis patients with mild-to-moderate immunodeficiency. We performed this study to determine the clinical features of pulmonary (PC) and extrapulmonary cryptococcosis (EPC) and compared them among populations with different immune statuses to support appropriate clinical management of this public health threat. METHODS: All cases were reported by 14 tertiary teaching hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China from January 2013 to December 2018. The trends in incidence, demographic data, medical history, clinical symptoms, laboratory test indicators, imaging characteristics and diagnostic method of these patients were then stratified by immune status, namely immunocompetent (IC, patients with no recognized underlying disease or those with an underlying disease that does not influence immunity, such as hypertension), mild-to-moderate immunodeficiency (MID, patients with diabetes mellitus, end-stage liver or kidney disease, autoimmune diseases treated with low-dose glucocorticoid therapy, and cancer treated with chemotherapy) and severe immunodeficiency (SID, patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, haematologic malignancies, solid organ transplantation or haematologic stem cell transplantation, idiopathic CD4 lymphocytosis, agranulocytosis, aggressive glucocorticoid or immunosuppressive therapy and other conditions or treatments that result in severe immunosuppression). RESULTS: The clinical data of 255 cryptococcosis patients were collected. In total, 66.3% of patients (169) were IC, 16.9% (43) had MID, and 16.9% (43) had SID. 10.1% of the patients (17) with IC were EPC, 18.6% of the patients (8) with MID were EPC, and 74.4% of patients (32) were EPC (IC/MID vs. SID, p < 0.001). Fever was more common in the SID group than in the IC and MID groups (69.8% vs. 14.8% vs. 37.2%, p < 0.001). Of chest CT scan, most lesions were distributed under the pleura (72.7%), presenting as nodules/lumps (90.3%) or consolidations (10.7%). Pleural effusion was more common in SID group compared to IC group (33.3% vs. 2.4%, p < 0.001). Positivity rate on the serum capsular polysaccharide antigen detection (CrAg) test was higher in the SID group than in the other two groups [100.0% vs. 84.4% (MID) vs. 78.2% (IC), p = 0.013]. Positivity rate on the serum CrAg test was also higher in cryptococcal meningitis patients than in PC patients (100.0% vs. 79.5%, p = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical presentation of MID patients is intermediate between SID and IC patients and is similar to that of IC patients. The serum CrAg test is more sensitive for the identification of SID or EPC patients.

Extending the L1 region in canonical double-stranded RNA-binding domains impairs their functions.

A large number of proteins involved in RNA metabolism possess a double-stranded RNA-binding domain (dsRBD), whose sequence variations and functional versatilities are still being recognized. All dsRBDs have a similar structural fold: α1-L1-ß1-L2-ß2-L3-ß3-L4-α2 (α represents an α-helix, ß a ß-sheet, and L a loop conformation between the well-defined secondary structures). Our recent work revealed that the dsRBD in Drosha, which is involved in animal microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis, differs from other dsRBDs by containing a short insertion in its L1 region and that this insertion is important for Drosha function. We asked why the same insertion is excluded in all other dsRBDs and proposed that a longer L1 may be detrimental to their functions. In this study, to test this hypothesis, we inserted the Drosha sequence into several well-known dsRBDs from various organisms. Gel mobility shift assay demonstrated that L1 extension invariably reduced RNA binding by these dsRBDs. In addition, such a mutation in Dicer, another protein involved in miRNA biogenesis, impaired Dicer's ability to process miRNAs, which led to de-repression of reporter expression, in human cells. Taken together, our results add to the growing appreciation of the diversity in dsRBDs and suggest that dsRBDs have intricate structures and functions that are sensitive to perturbations in the L1 region.

Epidemiological Trends of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China.

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic broke out in Wuhan, China, and it spread rapidly. Since January 23, 2020, China has launched a series of unusual and strict measures, including the lockdown of Wuhan city to contain this highly contagious disease. We collected the epidemiological data to analyze the trend of this epidemic in China. Methods: We closely tracked the Chinese and global official websites to collect the epidemiological information about COVID-19. The number of total and daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China was presented to illustrate the trend of this epidemic. Results: On January 23, 2020, 835 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in China. On February 6, 2020, there were 31,211 cases. By February 20, 2020, the number reached as high as 75,993. Most cases were distributed in and around Wuhan, Hubei province. Since January 23, 2020, the number of daily new cases in China except Hubei province reached a peak of 890 on the eleventh day and then it declined to a low level of 34 within two full-length incubation periods (28 days), and the number of daily new cases in Hubei also started to decrease on the twelfth day, from 3,156 on February 4, 2020 to 955 on February 15, 2020. Conclusion: The COVID-19 epidemic has been primarily contained in China. The battle against this epidemic in China has provided valuable experiences for the rest of the world. Strict measures need to be taken as earlier as possible to prevent its spread.

Quantitative Analysis of Enhancement Intensity and Patterns on Contrast-enhanced Spectral Mammography.

CESM is an emerging digital mammography technology with a high breast cancer detection and a limited diagnostic specificity. In order to improve specificity, we quantitatively assessed enhancement intensity of breast lesions with different pathological types and hormonal receptor status and evaluated the consistency of enhancement patterns between CESM and DCE-MRI. A total of 145 lesions were enrolled, consisting of 43 malignant (17 non-infiltrating cancers and 26 infiltrating cancers) and 99 benign lesions. The diagnostic performance of enhancement intensity in the former positions was significantly higher than that in the latter positions (AUC: 0.834 vs. 0.755, p = 0.0008). Infiltrating cancers showed the highest enhancement intensity, while benign lesions the lowest (mean CNR1: 7.6% vs. 2.7%; median CNR1: 6.8% vs. 2.7%). Enhancement intensity of ER or PR positive group was weaker than negative group, while HER-2 positive group was stronger than negative group. 28 patients with 28 lesions performed both CESM and DCE-MRI examinations, showing a coincidence rate of 64.2% and moderate agreement (k = 0.515) between CESM and DCE-MRI. In conclusion, quantitative analysis of enhancement characteristics is feasible to the diagnosis practice on CESM.

Background Parenchymal Enhancement on Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography: Influence of Age, Breast Density, Menstruation Status, and Menstrual Cycle Timing.

To evaluate the relationship of the extent and quantitative intensity of background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) with age, breast density, menstruation status, and menstrual cycle timing. This retrospective study included women who underwent CESM from July 2017 to March 2019 and who had menstruation status records. BPE category assessment was performed subjectively. BPE intensity was quantitatively measured using regions-of-interest. 208 subjects were included (150 were regular menstrual cycle and 58 were postmenopausal). The breast density was classified as category B in 11 subjects, category C in 231 subjects, and category D in 23 subjects. Subjects based on menstrual cycle timing, 24 at days 1-7, 55 at days 8-14, 48 at days 15-21, and 23 at days 22-28. Both quantitative and categorical analyses show a weak negative correlation between BPE and age in all subjects, but there was no significant correlation in premenopausal patients. Both the BPE pixel intensity value and BPE category was significantly lower in postmenopausal patients than in premenopausal patients, and there was no significant difference in breast density according to BPE. The minimum and maximum pixel values of BPE on days 8-14 of the menstrual cycle was significantly lower than those on days 15-21. There was no correlation between BPE level and menstrual cycle timing. Breast density with category D was more likely to have a lower BPE level than category C. We show here that BPE level is affected by menstruation status and menstrual cycle timing. We suggest that CESM should not be performed on days 15-21 of the menstrual cycle, but on days 8-14.

Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography: A potential exclusion diagnosis modality in dense breast patients.

BACKGROUND: China has an increasing burden of breast cancer. However, with a large population of dense breast patients, the diagnostic efficiency of conventional digital mammography is attenuated. METHODS: From July 2017 to October 2018, we retrospectively reviewed 397 dense breast patients who underwent contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) in West China Hospital. Among them, 53 patients who had both CESM and dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) results and 114 patients who had pathological diagnoses were finally enrolled. All images were reviewed by two independent radiologists according to the 2013 Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) with all disagreements handed to an associate professor for final decisions. Correlation analyses between CESM and DCE-MRI were conducted. The diagnostic performance of CESM were investigated. RESULTS: The kappa value of the BI-RADS scores between CESM and DCE-MRI was 0.607 (P < .001), indicating high correspondence between CESM and DCE-MRI. As for lesion size measurement, moderate correlation (Kendall's tau coefficient: 0.556, P < .001) was detected between CESM and DCE-MRI. Using pathological diagnoses as the reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of CESM were 82.4%, 96.4%, and 0.894, respectively. CONCLUSION: CESM demonstrated excellent overall diagnostic accuracy and a moderate correlation in lesion size estimation against DCE-MRI in dense breast patients, supporting it to be an alternative to DCE-MRI in breast cancer detection and diagnosis, especially for exclusion diagnosis.

Potential Anti-inflammatory Sesquiterpene Lactones from Eupatorium lindleyanum.

Eupatorium lindleyanum has traditionally been used as folk medicine in Asian countries for its therapeutic effects on tracheitis and tonsillitis. Investigation of the anti-inflammatory active constituents from E. lindleyanum led to the isolation of two novel sesquiterpene lactones, named eupalinolide L (1: ) and eupalinolide M (2: ), and seven known sesquiterpene lactones (3: -9: ). The structures and configurations of the new compounds were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, especially 2D NMR techniques. In vivo experiments showed that the sesquiterpenes fraction significantly reduced mouse ear edema induced by xylene (18.6%, p < 0.05). In in vitro assays, compounds 1: -9: showed excellent anti-inflammatory activities, as they lowered TNF-α and IL-6 levels in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells (p < 0.001). The above results suggest that the sesquiterpene lactones from E. lindleyanum can be developed as novel potential natural anti-inflammatory agents.

Potential hypoglycaemic activity phenolic glycosides from Moringa oleifera seeds.

Moringa oleifera seed has remarkable curative effects on reducing blood pressure, blood sugar and enhancing human immunity. In this study, one novel phenolic glycoside (1) together with four known compounds 2-5 were isolated from the macroporous resin adsorption extract of M. oleifera seeds, and the compound 3 was reported for the first time from this plant. The structure of the new crystalline compound was determined on the basis of spectroscopic analyses including mass spectrometry, 1D and 2D NMR experiments. The hypoglycaemic activity of isolated compounds was investigated with HepG2 cell and STZ-induced mice. It was found that compound 1, 4 and 5 could promote the glucose consumption of insulin resistance cells and reduce blood glucose levels of STZ-induced mice. This study concludes that compound 1, 4 and 5 may be developed as new and safe hypoglycaemic drugs.

Structural characterization and identification of flavonoid aglycones in three Glycyrrhiza species by liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Flavonoids, including flavones, isoflavones, flavanones, chalcones, and isoflavans, have long been recognized as the main active ingredients in licorice. A method combining liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was developed to characterize components in three Glycyrrhiza species, and to expound the characteristic fragmentation behaviors in the positive ion mode. Based on the fragmentation patterns of reference compounds, a total of 39 compounds, including 37 flavonoid aglycones and two coumestans, were identified or tentatively identified. Besides, some common features, such as H2 O, CO, and CH2 O2 losses, together with retro-Diels-Alder fragmentation, were observed in these compounds. Furthermore, diagnostic fragmentations of C-ring cleavages and UV absorption on the skeleton groups were observed to structurally characterize flavonoid aglycones. In addition, typical losses of different substituent groups were detected: Neutral losses of 56 (C4 H8 ) and 68 Da (C5 H8 ) were yielded from a prenyl chain; neutral losses of 42 (C3 H6 ), 54 (C4 H6 ), and 70 Da (C4 H6 O) were generated by a pyran ring. Particularly, neutral losses of 18 (H2 O), 16 (CH4 ), 112 (C8 H16 ), and 98 Da (C7 H14 ) predicted a hydroxyl, a methoxyl, double prenyl chains, and a prenyl chain with a pyran ring, respectively.

[Correlative analysis between CT pancreatic inflammatory infiltration degree and clinical disease severity of severe acute pancreatitis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between CT pancreatic inflammatory infiltration degree of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and the clinical disease severity, and to explore its prognostic value. METHODS: One hundred and nineteen (83) patients with confirmed diagnosis of SAP during 2008-2010 in West China Hospital of Sichuan University were retrospectively included into the study. Contrast-enhanced multi-detector-row CT (including dual source CT) scan was performed for all the patients. The abnormal imaging features, such as pancreatic and peri-pancreatic inflammatory changes, involvement of other organs and local complications, were observed and used to calculate several CT severity indexes. Also, the clinical data were collected and compared with CT severity indexes. RESULTS: The CT scores of SAP with local complications CCT severity index (CTSI) score, Balthazar CT score and the score of extra-pancreatic inflammation spread) were higher than those with smooth recovery (P < 0.01). The CT scores were positively correlated with the incidence of local complications of SAP. Among the CT indexes, the score of extra-pancreatic inflammation spread showed the larger area under the ROC curve (AUC = 0. 600) than CTSI score and Balthazar CT score. All CT severity indexes had relatively good correlation with APACHE II and Ranson scores. CONCLUSION: Among the CT severity indexes, the score of extra-pancreatic inflammation spread is superior to CTSI and Balthazar CT scores in predicting local complications of SAP, and has good correlation with APACHE II and Ranson scores.

[Correlation analysis of computed tomography imaging scoring to the presence of acute kidney injury in severe acute pancreatitis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the multi-detector-row spiral CT (MDCT) imaging findings of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) complicated with acute kidney injury (AKI), and to evaluate the correlation of MDCT imaging scoring to the presence of AKI in SAP. METHODS: One hundred and nineteen patients with confirmed diagnosis of SAP during March 2008-December 2010 in our hospital were retrospectively included into the study. The imaging features including pancreatic size, areas and degrees of pancreatic necrosis, peripancreatic retroperitoneal and intraperitoneal inflammation and other organs involvement (liver, kidney, spleen, gastrointestinal tract, etc.) were observed, as well as related CT severity indexes such as Balthazar CT score, CT severity index (CTSI) and extra-pancreatic inflammation on CT (EPIC) score were calculated. At the mean time, the clinical data including serum creatinine, urine output and the eventual prognosis were collected and compared with CT indexes, which was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: SAP with AKI patients were often associated with the high incidence of multiple organ dysfunction (MODS) (88.1%) and high mortality (47.6%). In SAP with AKI patients, the CT indexes were significantly higher than those of SAP without AKI patients. Among the CT indexes, EPIC score showed the larger area under the ROC curve (AUC = 0.903) than CTSI score (AUC = 0.721) and Balthazar CT score (AUC = 0.571). CONCLUSION: Among the CT indexes, EPIC score has a better prediction of AKI in SAP patients than CTSI and Balthazar CT scores.