Using Quercetin to Construct Molecularly Imprinting Polymer in the Preparation and Enrichment of Flavonol and Flavonoid Compounds.

Flavonol and flavonoid compounds are important natural compounds with various biomedical activities. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop a strategy for the specific extraction of flavonol and flavonoid compounds. Quercetin is a well-studied flavonoid possessing many health benefits. This compound is a versatile antioxidant known to possess protective abilities against body tissue injury induced by pathological situations and various drug toxicities. Although quercetin is widely distributed in many plants, its content generally is not very high. Therefore, the specific extraction of quercetin as well as other flavonol and flavonoid compounds has profound significance. In this work, the quercetin molecularly imprinting polymer (QMIP) was successfully prepared, in which a typical flavonol quercetin was selected as the template molecule. QMIP was synthesized by performing the surface molecular imprinting technology on the surface of NH2-MIL-101(Fe). Our study results showed that QMIP exhibited quick binding kinetic behavior, a high adsorption capacity (57.04[Formula: see text]mg/g), and the specific recognition ability toward quercetin compared with structurally distinct compounds (selective [Formula: see text]). The specific adsorption ability of quercetin by QMIP was further explained using computation simulation that molecules with non-planar 3D conformations hardly entered the molecularly imprinted cavities on QMIP. Finally, QMIP was successfully used for the specific extraction of quercetin and five other flavonol and flavonoid compounds in the crude extracts from Sapium sebiferum. This study proposes a new strategy to synthesize the molecularly imprinted polymer based on a single template for enriching and loading a certain class of active ingredients with similar core structures from variable botanicals.

Expression levels of GLUTs and SIRTs in diabetic liver lesions / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To study the expression of glucose transporters(GLUTs)and silent information regulators(SIRTs/sirtuins)in the liver of diabetic rats and human hepatocytes(LO2 cells)treated with high glucose.METHODS:(1)Twenty male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control(NC)group and diabetes mellitus(DM)group.The rats in DM group were given single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin(STZ,60 mg/kg)to establish the DM model,while the rats in NC group were intraperitoneally injected with equal volume of solvent once.Fasting blood glucose(FBG)and body mass were measured every 2 weeks.After 12 weeks of rearing,the blood and liver tissues of the rats were ob-tained after anesthesia with 1%sodium pentobarbitone,the biochemical indicators of blood were detected,and the liver in-dex was calculated.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and periodic acid-Schiff(PAS)staining were used to observe liver histopathological changes.Lipid accumulation in liver tissues was detected by oil red O staining.The expression levels of GLUTs and SIRTs family member proteins were detected in rat liver tissues.(2)The LO2 cells were treated with different concentrations of glucose for 48 h.The viability of the cells in each group was measured by CCK-8 assay,and Western blot was used to detected the protein expression levels of GLUTs and SIRTs in the cells.RESULTS:(1)Compared with NC group,the rats in DM group were depressed,lost weight,and the FBG and liver index were significantly increased(P＜0.05).The results of HE staining showed that the hepatic sinuses were dilatated and congested near the central vein in DM rats,and mild edema and scattered infiltration of inflammatory cells were found in liver cells.The results of oil red O staining showed the red fat droplets were diffusely scattered within liver cells in DM group.The results of PAS staining showed that there were numerous diffuse light purple circular droplets in the cytoplasm of the liver cells in the central ve-nous area of the DM rats.Western blot showed that the protein levels of GLUTs were higher and the protein levels of SIRTs were lower than those in NC group(P＜0.01).(2)The results of CCK-8 assay showed that the viability of LO2 cells was increased in 50 mmol/L glucose group(P＜0.01),without significant difference in 75,100 and 125 mmol/L glucose groups(all P＞0.05),and decreased in 150,175 and 200 mmol/L glucose groups(all P＜0.01).Later,150 mmol/L glu-cose was used as the high-glucose intervention condition.Western blot showed that the protein levels of GLUTs and SIRTs in LO2 cells under high glucose intervention were consistented with the results in animal experiments.CONCLUSION:High concentration of glucose can cause liver damage in SD rats and reduce the viability of human hepatocytes(LO2 cells).It can also increase the expression of GLUTs and decrease the expression of SIRTs in rat liver tissues and LO2 cells.Therefore,GLUTs and SIRTs family members may be the target proteins of diabetes-induced liver injury.

Incidence and related factors of pericardial tamponade after left atrial appendage closure in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation / 陆军军医大学学报

Objective To observe the incidence of pericardial tamponade(PT)after left atrial appendage closure(LAAC)in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation(NVAF),and to explore its related factors and outcomes.Methods NVAF patients who were hospitalized and treated with LAAC in Department of Cardiology of our hospital from August 2014 to March 2023 were selected for the study.The general clinical data,preoperative transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography data,results of routine preoperative laboratory tests,intraoperative data and follow-up data of the patients were collected through the hospital medical record management system.The enrolled patients were classified into the non-PT group(n=8)and the PT group(n =1184)according to whether PT occurred after LAAC or not.The incidence of PT,related risk factors and outcomes were statistically analyzed.Results This study included 639 males(53.6%)and 553 females(46.4%),with an average age of 68.1±9.65 years.The CHA2 DS2-VASc score was 4.51±1.72,and the HAS-BLED score was 3.36±1.09.PT occurred in 8 cases(0.67%),among them,6 cases occurred 1 to 33 h after LAAC,and 2 cases occurred on day 19 and day 27 after LAAC.As for the results of transesophageal echocardiography(TEE)and LAA angiography,compared with the non-PT group,the PT group had the significantly larger maximum caliber of the LAA(P=0.025,P=0.015),smaller maximum depth of the LAA(P=0.028,P=0.031),and lower success rate of one-time placement of the occluder(P=0.031);The occluder compression rate of the PT group was significantly greater than that of the non-PT group(P=0.046).Multivariate analysis showed that larger maximum diameter of LAA,smaller average effective depth of LAA and larger compression rate of occluder were the main risk factors for PT.All the 8 PT patients were cured by stopping antithrombotic drugs,pericardiocentesis or surgical drainage.During a mean follow-up of 39±27 months,there were no device-related thrombosis(DRT),ischemic stroke,systemic embolism and other complications in the PT group.Conclusion The incidence of PT after LAAC is low,which is related to the large diameter of LAA,the relatively insufficient depth of the LAA and the large compression rate of the occlude.PT can be cured by stopping antithrombotic drugs and pericardiocentesis/surgical drainage.

The mechanism of miR-10b targeting TGFBR1/SMAD3 pathway on chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophy in idiopathic short stature / 天津医药

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of microRNA-10b(miR-10b)on idiopathic short stature(ISS).Methods A total of 54 children with ISS and 54 healthy children were collected.The serum expression of miR-10b was detected by RT-qPCR,and the relationship between serum miR-10b expression and clinical data of children with ISS was analyzed.miR-10b inhibitor,si-TGFBR1 and their negative control transfection C28/I2 cells were used.CCK-8 experimental detection was used to detect C28/I2 cell proliferation.Western blot assay was used to detect gnome related transcription factor 2(RUNX2),collagen type X alpha 1 chain(COL10A1),transforming growth factor beta receptor 1(TGFBR1),SMAD3 and pSMAD3 protein expression.The target of miR-10b was screened in StarBase database,and the targeting relationship between miR-10b and TGFBR1 was verified by dual luciferase reporter gene assay.Results The serum expression of miR-10b was higher in the ISS group than that of the healthy control group,and the higher the miR-10b expression,the more obvious the decrease of child height,IGF-1 and alkaline phosphatase(P＜0.05).Compared with the NC group,the cell proliferation ability and RUNX2,COL10A1,TGFBR1,and pSMAD3 protein expression were up-regulated in the miR-10b inhibitor group(P＜0.05).StarBase database suggested that miR-10b had a binding site of TGFBR1,and dual luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that TGFBR1 interacted with miR-10b(P＜0.05).Compared with the si-NC group,the expression of TGFBR1 was down-regulated and the cell proliferation ability was decreased in the si-TGFBR1 group(P＜0.05).Conclusion miR-10b inhibits chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophy in idiopathic short stature by targeting TGFBR1/SMAD3 pathway.

Expression changes of glucose transporters 1/4 and Sirtuins in the retina of diabetic rats / 眼科新进展

Objective To explore the changes in the expression of glucose transporters 1/4(GLUT1/4)and Sirtuins in the retina of rats with diabetes.Methods Twenty 8-week-old healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divid-ed into normal control and diabetic groups.Rats in the diabetic group received a disposable intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg·kg-1 streptozotocin to induce the diabetes model,while rats in the normal control group were injected with an equiva-lent amount of solvent.Body weight and blood glucose were measured at 2-week intervals.At 12 weeks after modeling,color Doppler ultrasound was applied to detect blood flow parameters in the central retinal artery(CRA)of rats;after an-esthetizing rats with sodium pentobarbital,eyeballs were harvested,and the pathological changes of rat retinal tissue were observed by hematoxylin & eosin(HE)staining.The expression of messenger ribonucleic acid(mRNA)for GLUT 1/4 and Sirtuins in the retina of rats were detected by immunohistochemical staining,Western blot and quantitative of reverse tran-scription polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR),respectively.Results At 12 weeks after modeling,compared with the normal control group,peak systolic velocity and end diastolic velocity were significantly lower in CRA of rats in the diabetic group(both P＜0.001);there were no significant differences in resistance index and pulsatility index(both P＞0.05).The HE staining results at 12 weeks after modeling showed that rats in the normal control group had clear structure in each layer of retinal tissues,closely and regularly arranged cells,and no obvious pathological changes;rats in the diabetic group showed decreased retinal thickness,blurred boundary of each layer,disordered structure and reduced cell number.Immu-nohistochemical staining at 12 weeks after modeling showed that GLUT 1 was mainly located in the retinal pigment epithelial layer of rats,and GLUT 4 was located in the ganglion cell layer,inner plexiform layer and photoreceptor layer.Western blot results showed that the relative expression of GLUT1 and GLUT 4 protein in the diabetic group were lower than that in the normal control group(both P＜0.05),and the relative expression of SIRT1-SIRT7 protein in the retina of rats in the di-abetic group were lower than those of the normal control group(all P＜0.05).qRT-PCR showed a decreased relative ex-pression of SIRT1-SIRT7 mRNA in the retina of rats in the diabetic group compared with that of the normal control group(allP＜0.01).Conclusion Diabetes can cause altered expression of GLUT1/4 and Sirtuins in the retinal tissue of rats,and GLUT1/4 and Sirtuins may be involved in the occurrence and development of diabetic retinopathy.

[Effects of Nano-copper Oxide on Physiobiochemical Properties of Brassica chinensis L. and Its Heavy Metal Accumulation Under Cadmium Stress].

To investigate the effects of nano-copper oxide (CuO NPs) on plant growth, physio-biochemical characteristics, and heavy metal content under cadmium stress, a hydroponics experiment was conducted on the effects of single and combined treatments of CuO NPs (0, 10, 20, and 50 mg·L-1) and Cd (0, 1, and 5 µmol·L-1) on the fresh weight, photosynthetic pigment content, MDA content, antioxidant enzyme activity (CAT, POD, SOD, and GR), and Cu and Cd contents in Brassica chinensis L. The results showed that under the single addition of CuO NPs, the fresh weight and activities of CAT, POD, and GR were inhibited as a whole. Photosynthetic pigment content and SOD activity increased first and then decreased with the increase in CuO NPs concentration, whereas MDA content in leaves and roots, and Cu content in subcells of B. chinensis L. increased with the increasing of CuO NPs. As compared with that in the control, CuO NPs promoted the growth of B. chinensis L., and the fresh weight increased by 8.70%-44.87% at 1 µmol·L-1 Cd. When the content of Cd was up to 5 µmol·L-1, a low content (10 mg·L-1) of CuO NPs promoted the growth of B. chinensis L., whereas a high concentration (50 mg·L-1) showed an inhibitory effect. The addition of CuO NPs could increase photosynthetic pigment and MDA contents under different Cd stress, and MDA content in leaves and roots of B. chinensis L. increased by 4.34%-36.27% and 13.43%-131.04%, respectively, than that in the control groups. Under the same concentration of 1 µmol·L-1 Cd, the addition of CuO NPs decreased the activities of CAT and GR, whereas the activity of POD increased. When the content of Cd was up to 5 µmol·L-1, CuO NPs increased the POD activity and inhibited the activity of SOD and GR. The activities of CAT and CAT in the leaves of B. chinensis L. initially showed an increasing and then decreasing trend. CuO NPs and Cd showed antagonistic effects, the maximum reduction of Cd content in leaves and roots of Brassica chinensis L. under 1 µmol·L-1 Cd treatment was 45.64% and 33.39%, and that under 5 µmol·L-1 Cd treatment was 18.25% and 25.35%, respectively. The content of Cu and Cd in subcellular organs of the plants decreased, but the proportion of soluble components increased. These results indicated that CuO NPs at low concentrations promoted plant growth under Cd stress and further inhibited the absorption of Cd but increased the oxidative damage to B. chinensis L.

Cell-Permeable Ubiquitin and Histone Tools for Studying Post-translational Modifications.

Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) regulate nearly all biological processes in eukaryotic cells, and synthetic PTM protein tools are widely used to detect the activity of the related enzymes and identify the interacting proteins in cell lysates. Recently, the study of these enzymes and the interacting proteome has been accomplished in live cells using cell-permeable PTM protein tools. In this concept, we will introduce cell penetrating techniques, the syntheses of cell-permeable PTM protein tools, and offer some future perspective.

Analysis of the characteristics of retracted scientific papers in the field of global liver diseases published by Chinese scholars / 中华肝脏病杂志

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of scientific papers in the field of global liver diseases published by Chinese scholars that were retracted for diverse reasons from the Retraction Watch database, so as to provide a reference to publishing-related papers. Methods: The Retraction Watch database was retrieved for retracted papers in the field of global liver disease published by Chinese scholars from March 1, 2008 to January 28, 2021. The regional distribution, source journals, reasons for retraction, publication and retraction times, and others were analyzed. Results: A total of 101 retracted papers that were distributed across 21 provinces/cities were retrieved. Zhejiang area (n = 17) had the most retracted papers, followed by Shanghai (n = 14), and Beijing (n = 11). The vast majority were research papers (n = 95). The journal PLoS One had the highest number of retracted papers. In terms of time distribution, 2019 (n = 36) had the most retracted papers. 23 papers, accounting for 8.3% of all retractions, were retracted owing to journal or publisher concerns. Liver cancer (34%), liver transplantation (16%), hepatitis (14%), and others were the main areas of retracted papers. Conclusion: Chinese scholars have a large number of retracted articles in the field of global liver diseases. A journal or publisher chooses to retract a manuscript after investigating and discovering more flawed problems, which, however, require further support, revision, and supervision from the editorial and academic circles.

Salmonella-mediated blood‒brain barrier penetration, tumor homing and tumor microenvironment regulation for enhanced chemo/bacterial glioma therapy

Chemotherapy is an important adjuvant treatment of glioma, while the efficacy is far from satisfactory, due not only to the biological barriers of blood‒brain barrier (BBB) and blood‒tumor barrier (BTB) but also to the intrinsic resistance of glioma cells via multiple survival mechanisms such as up-regulation of P-glycoprotein (P-gp). To address these limitations, we report a bacteria-based drug delivery strategy for BBB/BTB transportation, glioma targeting, and chemo-sensitization. Bacteria selectively colonized into hypoxic tumor region and modulated tumor microenvironment, including macrophages repolarization and neutrophils infiltration. Specifically, tumor migration of neutrophils was employed as hitchhiking delivery of doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs/DOX). By virtue of the surface pathogen-associated molecular patterns derived from native bacteria, OMVs/DOX could be selectively recognized by neutrophils, thus facilitating glioma targeted delivery of drug with significantly enhanced tumor accumulation by 18-fold as compared to the classical passive targeting effect. Moreover, the P-gp expression on tumor cells was silenced by bacteria type III secretion effector to sensitize the efficacy of DOX, resulting in complete tumor eradication with 100% survival of all treated mice. In addition, the colonized bacteria were finally cleared by anti-bacterial activity of DOX to minimize the potential infection risk, and cardiotoxicity of DOX was also avoided, achieving excellent compatibility. This work provides an efficient trans-BBB/BTB drug delivery strategy via cell hitchhiking for enhanced glioma therapy.

Roles of focal adhesion proteins in skeleton and diseases

The skeletal system, which contains bones, joints, tendons, ligaments and other elements, plays a wide variety of roles in body shaping, support and movement, protection of internal organs, production of blood cells and regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism. The prevalence of skeletal diseases and disorders, such as osteoporosis and bone fracture, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and intervertebral disc degeneration, increases with age, causing pain and loss of mobility and creating a huge social and economic burden globally. Focal adhesions (FAs) are macromolecular assemblies that are composed of the extracellular matrix (ECM), integrins, intracellular cytoskeleton and other proteins, including kindlin, talin, vinculin, paxillin, pinch, Src, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and integrin-linked protein kinase (ILK) and other proteins. FA acts as a mechanical linkage connecting the ECM and cytoskeleton and plays a key role in mediating cell-environment communications and modulates important processes, such as cell attachment, spreading, migration, differentiation and mechanotransduction, in different cells in skeletal system by impacting distinct outside-in and inside-out signaling pathways. This review aims to integrate the up-to-date knowledge of the roles of FA proteins in the health and disease of skeletal system and focuses on the specific molecular mechanisms and underlying therapeutic targets for skeletal diseases.

Identification of constituents in vitro and blood-absorbed ingredients of protective effect on acute liver injury from Yin Chen Hao decoction based on UPLC-QTOF/MS / 药学学报

To identify the active constituents in vitro and blood-absorbed ingredients in vivo from Yin Chen Hao decoction provides scientific evidence for probing its prevention and treatment mechanism on acute liver injury. An ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) method was applied for analysis of Yin Chen Hao decoction and the serum samples of mice with con-A induced acute liver injury after preventive oral administration for 14 days (the use of all laboratory animals in this study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Naval Medical University, 19YF1459400). A total of 90 chemical constituents were identified from Yin Chen Hao decoction, mainly were flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, quinones. 5 prototype compounds were identified in the serum, including chrysophanol, deoxyrhapontin-8-O-gallate, mussaenosidic acid, herniarin, emodin. The established UPLC-QTOF/MS method could efficiently and sensitively identify the constituents in vitro and blood-absorbed ingredients of Yin Chen Hao decoction, primarily clarify the material basis of its hepatoprotective effect, and provided a scientific basis for the quality marker selection and the pharmacodynamic material basis research on the decoction.

Screening of anti-SARS-CoV-2 ligands from Chinese herbs based on a dual-target surface plasmon resonance biosensor / 药学学报

The epidemic of COVID-19 has brought great challenges to the global public health prevention and control system combined with clinical diagnosis and treatment system, and it makes the development of effective antiviral drugs an important task in current pharmaceutical research. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an important role in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Due to its numerous chemical components and various structural types, TCM becomes a natural library for searching for lead compounds against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, a novel dual-target surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor was developed for S protein receptor binding domain (SRBD) and angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which are two key proteins in the process of SARS-CoV-2 invading cells according to characteristics of synergistic effects of multiple components and comprehensive regulation of multiple targets of TCM. The SPR biosensor was applied to screen and identify active components from six TCMs, and daidzin from Puerariae Lobatae Radix was identified to bind with SRBD and ACE2. The affinity constant (KD) of daidzin and ACE2 was 5.18 μmol·L-1 through the SPR affinity assay. Competitive ELISA assay showed that daidzin could inhibit the binding of SRBD and ACE2, and the inhibition rate of daidzin (20 μmol·L-1) was 38.6%. Molecular docking experiments further confirmed that daidzin had the best binding near the binding region of SRBD-ACE2 complex. This study shows that the dual-target SPR screening system is accurate and efficient, and is particularly suitable for screening of complex drug systems and effective substances study of TCM. It provides a material basis for exploring the mechanism of TCM active constituents against SARS-CoV-2, and provides a source of lead compounds for the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs.

Application and prospect of gene chip in genetic breeding of livestock and poultry.

Gene chip is a high-throughput technique for detecting specific DNA sequences by DNA or DNA-RNA complementary hybridization, among which SNP genotyping chips have been widely employed in the animal genetics and breeding, and have made great achievements in cattle (Bos taurus), pigs (Sus scrofa), sheep (Caprinae), chickens (Gallus gallus) and other livestock. However, genomic selection applied in production merely uses genomic information and cannot fully explain the molecular mechanism of complex traits genetics, which limits the accuracy of genomic selection. With the continuous progresses in epigenetic research, the development of commercial methylation chips and the application of the epigenome-wide association study (EWAS), DNA methylation has been extensively used to draw the causal connections between genetics and phenotypes. In the future, it is hopefully expected to develop methylation chips customized for livestock and poultry and explore methylation sites significantly related to economic traits of livestock and poultry through EWAS thereby extending the understanding of causal variation of complex traits. Combining methylation chips and SNP chips, we can capture the epigenomic and genomic information of livestock and poultry, interpret genetic variation more precisely, improve the accuracy of genome selection, and promote the fine evolution of molecular genetic breeding of livestock and poultry. In this review, we summarize the application of SNP chips and depict the prospects of the application of methylation chips in livestock and poultry. This review will provide valuable insights for further application of gene chips in farm animal breeding.

An ABA-serotonin module regulates root suberization and salinity tolerance.

Suberin in roots acts as a physical barrier preventing water/mineral losses. In Arabidopsis, root suberization is regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene in response to nutrient stresses. ABA also mediates coordination between microbiota and root endodermis in mineral nutrient homeostasis. However, it is not known whether this regulatory system is common to plants in general, and whether there are other key molecule(s) involved. We show that serotonin acts downstream of ABA in regulating suberization in rice and Arabidopsis and negatively regulates suberization in rice roots in response to salinity. We show that ABA represses transcription of the key gene (OsT5H) in serotonin biosynthesis, thus promoting root suberization in rice. Conversely, overexpression of OsT5H or supplementation with exogenous serotonin represses suberization and reduces tolerance to salt stress. These results identify an ABA-serotonin regulatory module controlling root suberization in rice and Arabidopsis, which is likely to represent a general mechanism as ABA and serotonin are ubiquitous in plants. These findings are of significant importance to breeding novel crop varieties that are resilient to abiotic stresses and developing strategies for production of suberin-rich roots to sequestrate more CO2 , helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

An alanine to valine mutation of glutamyl-tRNA reductase enhances 5-aminolevulinic acid synthesis in rice.

KEY MESSAGE: An alanine to valine mutation of glutamyl-tRNA reductase's 510th amino acid improves 5-aminolevulinic acid synthesis in rice. 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is the common precursor of all tetrapyrroles and plays an important role in plant growth regulation. ALA is synthesized from glutamate, catalyzed by glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS), glutamyl-tRNA reductase (GluTR), and glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase (GSAT). In Arabidopsis, ALA synthesis is the rate-limiting step in tetrapyrrole production via GluTR post-translational regulations. In rice, mutations of GluTR and GSAT homologs are known to confer chlorophyll deficiency phenotypes; however, the enzymatic activity of rice GluRS, GluTR, and GSAT and the post-translational regulation of rice GluTR have not been investigated experimentally. We have demonstrated that a suppressor mutation in rice partially reverts the xantha trait. In the present study, we first determine that the suppressor mutation results from a G → A nucleotide substitution of OsGluTR (and an A → V change of its 510th amino acid). Protein homology modeling and molecular docking show that the OsGluTRA510V mutation increases its substrate binding. We then demonstrate that the OsGluTRA510V mutation increases ALA synthesis in Escherichia coli without affecting its interaction with OsFLU. We further explore homologous genes encoding GluTR across 193 plant species and find that the amino acid (A) is 100% conserved at the position, suggesting its critical role in GluTR. Thus, we demonstrate that the gain-of-function OsGluTRA510V mutation underlies suppression of the xantha trait, experimentally proves the enzymatic activity of rice GluRS, GluTR, and GSAT in ALA synthesis, and uncovers conservation of the alanine corresponding to the 510th amino acid of OsGluTR across plant species.

Long-term efficacy, prognostic factors, and safety of deep brain stimulation in patients with refractory Tourette syndrome: A single center, single target, retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the long-term efficacy, prognostic factors, and safety of posteroventral globus pallidus internus deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with refractory Tourette syndrome (RTS). METHODS: This retrospective study recruited 61 patients with RTS who underwent posteroventral globus pallidus internus (GPi) DBS from January 2010 to December 2020 at the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital. The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome Quality-of-Life Scale (GTS-QOL) were used to evaluate the preoperative and postoperative clinical condition in all patients. Prognostic factors and adverse events following surgery were analyzed. RESULTS: Patient follow up was conducted for an average of 73.33 ± 28.44 months. The final postoperative YGTSS (32.39 ± 22.34 vs 76.61 ± 17.07), YBOCS (11.26 ± 5.57 vs 18.31 ± 8.55), BDI (14.36 ± 8.16 vs 24.79 ± 11.03) and GTS-QOL (39.69 ± 18.29 vs 78.08 ± 14.52) scores at the end of the follow-up period were significantly lower than those before the surgery (p < 0.05). While age and the duration of follow-up were closely related to prognosis, the disease duration and gender were not. No serious adverse events were observed and only one patient exhibited symptomatic deterioration. CONCLUSIONS: Posteroventral-GPI DBS provides long-term effectiveness, acceptable safety and can improve the quality of life in RTS patients. Moreover, DBS is more successful among younger patients and with longer treatment duration.

An edible molecularly imprinted material prepared by a new environmentally friendly deep eutectic solvent for removing oxalic acid from vegetables and human blood.

A novel deep eutectic solvent-magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (DES-MMIP) for the specific removal of oxalic acid (OA) was prepared by an environmentally friendly deep eutectic solvent, consisting of betaine, citric acid, and glycerol, which acted as the functional monomer for polymerization. The structure and morphology of DES-MMIPs were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer. DES-MMIPs had a core-shell structure, with magnetic iron oxide as the core, and showed good thermal stability and high adsorption capacity (18.73 mg/g) for OA. The adsorption process of OA by DES-MMIPs followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. DES-MMIPs had significant selectivity for OA and their imprinting factor was 3.26. When applied to real samples, high performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that DES-MMIPs could remove OA from both spinach and blood serum. These findings provide potential methods for removal of OA from vegetables and for specific removal of OA in renal dialysis.

Observation of PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocyte and sPD-1 levels in HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B virus carriers treated with entecavir / 中华肝脏病杂志

Objective: To dynamically observe the clinical efficacy of entecavir and the changes of PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocytes and sPD-1 levels in peripheral blood of HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B virus carriers treated with entecavir, and further explore its clinical significance. Methods: There were 31 cases of chronic hepatitis B virus carriers in the treatment group (A), 32 cases of chronic hepatitis B virus carriers in the treatment group (B), and 15 cases of chronic hepatitis B virus carriers in the non-treatment group (C).Three groups peripheral blood samples and clinical data at 0, 24 and 48 weeks were collected and compared. PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocytes were detected by flow cytometry, and the level of sPD-1 was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ANOVA and Spearman correlation analysis were performed on the measurement data among the three groups. Results: At week 0, the serum levels of HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA were significantly higher in groups A and C than group B. PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocytes in peripheral blood were significantly higher in group B (4.70%±1.58%) than group A (3.25%±1.01%) and group C (2.77%±0.67%) (F=16.65, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between group A and group C (P>0.05). Peripheral blood sPD-1 in group B [(1 866.62±1 472.70) pg/ml] was significantly higher than group A [(824.86±538.66) pg/ml] and group C [(618.19±602.62) pg/ml] (F=10.95, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between group A and group C (P>0.05). At 48 weeks, the serum HBsAg did not decrease significantly in groups A and C than baseline (P>0.05), but were significantly higher than group B (P<0.05). Serum HBeAg levels were decreased significantly in groups A and B than baseline (P<0.05). <0.05), but group A was significantly higher than group B (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between group A and group C (P>0.05). Serum HBV DNA level was significantly lower in groups A and B than group C (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between group A and group B (P>0.05). Peripheral blood PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocytes were significantly lower in Group A (1.56%±0.73%) and group B (1.32%±0.43%) than group C (2.64%±0.85%) (P<0.05). Peripheral blood sPD-1 were significantly lower in group A [(289.05±215.86) pg/ml] and group B [(236.01±173.92) pg/ml] than group C [(650.34±598.46) pg/ml] (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between group A and group B. Correlation analysis results: In group A at 48 weeks, the decreased level of PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocyte ratio had no correlation with the decreased level of HBsAg and HBV DNA, but was positively correlated with the decreased level of HBeAg (r=0.376, P<0.05). The decreased level of sPD-1 had no correlation with the changes of HBsAg, but was positively correlated with the decreased levels of HBeAg and HBV DNA (r=0.598 and 0.384, P<0.05). In group B at 48 weeks, the decreased levels of PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocytes and sPD-1 were positively correlated with the decreased levels of HBsAg, HBeAg, and HBV DNA (P<0.05). Conclusion: Hepatitis B virus replication and expressions in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B virus carriers were significantly inhibited after 48 weeks of antiviral treatment, which is related not only to entecavir treatment, but also to the immunological mechanism involved in sPD-1. Moreover, the inhibition of HBeAg expression is associated with a decrease in the number and/or activity of PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+T lymphocytes.

New discovery and short-term effect analysis of tensor tympani muscle tenotomy for Meniere's disease under otoscope / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective: To explore the feasibility and short-term effect of tensor tympani muscle Tenotomy in the treatment of Meniere's disease under otoscope. The possible pathogenesis was discussed and our views were put forward. Methods: The clinical data of 9 cases of Meniere's disease treated by otoscopic Tenotomy were analyzed retrospectively, including 2 males, 7 females, 5 right ones, 2 left ones and 2 bilateral ones. The average age was (56.33± 10.56) years, ranging from 38 to 75 years. We evaluated intraoperative findings and short-term postoperative efficacy, respectively evaluated postoperative aural fullness, tinnitus and hearing recovery, and evaluated postoperative vertigo attack in a short time. Results: Nine patients were completed the operation under general anaesthesia and otoscopy, and no serious complications occurred. We found new pathological changes in tympanic cavity in some cases during operation. There were rupture of round window membrane in 1 case, severe fibrous hyperplasia near the round window membrane and vestibular window and adhesion with ossicular chain in 1 case, fibrous cord and membranous hyperplasia near vestibular window and round window membrane in 1 case, fibrous hyperplasia and adhesion near the round window membrane in 2 cases, membranous hyperplasia and adhesion around vestibular window in 1 case. No fibrous hyperplasia was found in 3 cases in the tympanic cavity. The round window membrane can be exposed in 4 cases and failed in 5 cases. After 3 months of follow-up, we found that we found that 5/5 cases of aural fullness disappeared, 2/2 cases of earache disappeared, 3/8 cases of tinnitus improved, 5/8 cases presented with improvement and no aggravation, 3/3 cases of hearing allergy improved, 4/9 cases of hearing improved, and 5/9 cases showed no improvement or decrease. 9 patients were followed up for 3 months, of whom 8 patients had no vertigo, one patient suffered from vertigo twice within 3 months after operation, and the patient suffered from rupture of round window membrane. Conclusions: Endoscopic Tenotomy for Meniere's disease has obvious curative effect and quick recovery after operation. During the operation, we find that most of Meniere's patients have fibrous cord hyperplasia near the inner ear window membrane, which may be the pathological manifestation after repeated rupture and repair of the inner ear window membrane. The vertigo of Meniere's disease may be related to the destruction and repair of inner ear membrane structure caused by improper contraction or spasm of tympanic tensor muscle.