Foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] grown under nitrogen deficiency exhibits a lower folate contents.

Foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.], as a rich source of folates, has been cultivated on arid infertile lands, for which N deficiency is one of the major issues. Growing environments might have a significant influence on cereal folate levels. However, little is known whether N deficiency modulates cereal folate levels. In order to obtain enriched folate foxtail millet production in nutrient-poor soil, we conducted a study investigating the content of folate derivatives of 29 diverse foxtail millet cultivars under two N regimes (0 and 150 kg N ha-1) for 2 years to explore folate potential grown under low N. The contents of total folate and most derivatives were reduced by N deficiency. The effect on total folate content caused by N was stronger than cultivar genotype did. Folate content of enriched folate cultivars was prone to be reduced by N deficiency. Structural equation models (SEMs) revealed that N fertilization had a positive indirect effect on grain folate content through influencing plant N and K accumulation. Collectively, the results indicate much more attention should be paid to N management when foxtail millet is cultivated in infertile soil, to improve foxtail millet folate contents.

Efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab monotherapy in EGFR-mutant squamous cell lung cancer with PD-L1 over-expression: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are less likely to be programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive compared with wild-type EGFR mutant tumors. Given the rarity of actionable driver genes in squamous cell lung cancer (SQCC), the frequency of SQCC patients simultaneously carrying EGFR driver gene mutation and having PD-L1 over-expression is extremely low. Studies on the effectiveness and safety of EGFR-TKIs or immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in this subset of patients are lacking. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient suffered from coughing and chest pain for 1 month. A chest CT revealed a mass with a cavity in the right lung, enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, diffuse pleural thickening in the right pleura, and pleural effusion of the right chest. DIAGNOSIS: A pleural biopsy was performed using a video-assisted thoracoscope. The pathological examination revealed a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of lung. Further genetic testing identified exon 19 deletion mutation in EGFR with abundance of 0.27%. Meanwhile, immunohistochemical PD-L1 analysis showed a TPS of 90%. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was initially resistant to EGFR-TKIs but exhibited a rapid and marked response to pembrolizumab. OUTCOMES: After 5 cycles of pembrolizumab monotherapy, the patient developed Grade 3 immune-related dermatitis, and ICI therapy was suspended. CONCLUSIONS: ICI monotherapy could be an effective therapy in SQCC patients with low-abundance of EGFR mutations and PD-L1 over-expression. However, close attention should be paid to immune-related adverse events.

[Medical exchanges between China and Vietnam during the Song, Jin and Yuan Periods].

There were many medical exchanges between China and Vietnam during the Song, Jin and Yuan Periods. For example, in the Li Period, Vietnam established the Imperial Medical Department according to medical administration in China and to the Chen Period, the name was changed to Imperial Academy of Medicine. Through tribute and trade, many medicines circulated between the two countries. Many medicines from Vietnam, especially the spices and perfumes, could be found in prescriptions in China during those periods. Except for herb exchange, Chinese doctors also brought TCM theory to Vietnam and they offered medical attention for people and the Emperor. At the same time, Vietnamese doctors also had treated disease for a Chinese Empress in the Song Dynasty. In the area of the Sino-Vietnam border, people are used to chewing betel, which has been recorded in Chinese medical books.

The cultivation and identification of tumor stem cells from neuroblastoma derived tumor spheres.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Since the proposal of the tumor stem cell hypothesis, considerable interest has been devoted to the isolation and purification of tumor stem cells. Tumor stem cell enrichment from primary tumor derived cell spheres has been demonstrated in specific, serum-free media. This goal of this study is to establish a method of cultivating floating tumor spheres from neuroblastoma cells and to confirm that neuroblastoma spheres are rich in tumor stem cells. METHODS: Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from pediatric patients diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma. Primary tumor cells were isolated and cultivated in serum-free, stem cell-selective medium. Single sphere-forming cells were cultivated under serum-free conditions; their cloning efficiency and monoclonal tumor sphere formation rates were calculated. The expression of stem cell marker genes Oct-4 and Bmi-1 was detected by RT-PCR in sphere-forming cells and parental neurolastoma cells. Sphere-forming cells were injected into the armpit of nude mice with subsequent assessment for tumor growth. Sphere-forming cells were cultivated in differentiation medium containing 5 µmol/L 13-cis retinoic acid; changes in cell morphology were observed. RESULTS: Neuroblastoma cells formed non-adherent neurospheres under serum-free, stem cell-selective conditions after a period of 4 to 6 days. A single cell dissociated from a neurosphere could reform a monoclonal sphere; cloning efficiency and monoclonal sphere formation rates were 55.3% and 26.3%, respectively. RT-PCR results revealed heightened tumor sphere expression of Oct-4 and Bmi-1 as compared with parental tumor cells. Fourteen days after injection of 10(4) sphere-forming cells into nude mice, a neuroblastoma xenograft formed. Treatment of sphere-forming cells with 13-cis retinoic acid induced a gradual differentiation to neuronal cell morphology. CONCLUSIONS: Neuroblastoma derived tumor spheres enrich tumor stem cells and the cultivation of primary neuroblastoma cells in serum-free, stem cell-selective medium is an effective method to dissociate and purify tumor stem cells in vitro.