The expression of autophagy-related proteins in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with lupus nephritis is upregulated and related to kidney damage / 细胞与分子免疫学杂志

Objective To identify the relationship between nephritis activity, autophagy and inflammation in patients with SLE. Methods Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and P62 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of SLE patients with lupus nephritis and non-lupus nephritis patients. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interferon γ (IFN-γ) in the serum of SLE patients were determined by ELISA. The correlation between LC3II/LC3I ratio and SLE disease activity score (SLEDAI), urinary protein, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels was analyzed by Pearson method. Results The expression of LC3 was increased and P62 was decreased in SLE patients. TNF-α and IFN-γ were increased in the serum of SLE patients. LC3II/LC3I ratio was positively correlated with SLEDAI (r=0.4560), 24 hour urine protein (r=0.3753), IFN-γ (r=0.5685), but had no correlation with TNF-α (r=0.04 683). Conclusion Autophagy is found in PBMCs of SLE, and the autophagy is correlated with renal damage and inflammation in patients with lupus nephritis.

Cytotoxic sesquiterpene aryl esters from Armillaria gallica 012m / 中草药·英文版

OBJECTIVE@#To study the chemical constituents of the EtOAc extract of Armillaria gallica 012m.@*METHODS@#The chemical constituents of the EtOAc extract of A. gallica 012m were isolated and purified by various column chromatography and their structures were elucidated on the basis of the 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic and HRESIMS data. Cytotoxicity of all isolates against A549, HCT-116, M231 and W256 human tumor cells was determined by the MTT method.@*RESULTS@#A new sesquiterpene aryl ester, armimelleolide C ( 1), and eight known ones including armillarivin ( 2), melleolide F ( 3), 6'-chloromelleolide F ( 4), melleolide ( 5), melleolide K ( 6), melledonol ( 7), 13-hydroxydihydromelleolide ( 8), and armillane ( 9), were isolated from the EtOAc extract of A. gallica 012m. All isolates showed potential cytotoxic activities against at least one of the human cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from (3.17 ± 0.54) to (17.57 ± 0.47) μmol/L. Compound 1 showed significant inhibitory activity against M231 with an IC50 value of (7.54 ± 0.24) μmol/L compared with paclitaxel as the positive control. Compounds 2, 3, and 7, 9 showed obvious inhibitory activity against HCT-116 and were better than that of the positive control.@*CONCLUSION@#The chemical constituents including a new sesquiterpene aryl ester armimelleolide C ( 1) from the EtOAc extract of A. gallica 012m have a variety of structures and potential antitumor activities.

Evidence for a mouse origin of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

The rapid accumulation of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant that enabled its outbreak raises questions as to whether its proximal origin occurred in humans or another mammalian host. Here, we identified 45 point mutations that Omicron acquired since divergence from the B.1.1 lineage. We found that the Omicron spike protein sequence was subjected to stronger positive selection than that of any reported SARS-CoV-2 variants known to evolve persistently in human hosts, suggesting the possibility of host-jumping. The molecular spectrum (i.e., the relative frequency of the twelve types of base substitutions) of mutations acquired by the progenitor of Omicron was significantly different from the spectrum for viruses that evolved in human patients, but was highly consistent with spectra associated with evolution in a mouse cellular environment. Furthermore, mutations in the Omicron spike protein significantly overlapped with SARS-CoV-2 mutations known to promote adaptation to mouse hosts, particularly through enhanced spike protein binding affinity for the mouse cell entry receptor. Collectively, our results suggest that the progenitor of Omicron jumped from humans to mice, rapidly accumulated mutations conducive to infecting that host, then jumped back into humans, indicating an inter-species evolutionary trajectory for the Omicron outbreak.

Water footprint assessment for crop production based on field measurements: A case study of irrigated paddy rice in East China.

Water footprint (WF) is a comprehensive measure of water consumption by human activities and can be used to assess the impact on both water volume and quality. This study aims to explore the feasibility of evaluating green, blue and grey WFs of crop production based on field measurements. The irrigated paddy rice grown in three different experimental sites in different typical irrigation districts in Huai'an, East China over 2011 to 2014 was taken as study case. With fixed irrigation and fertilization, on the basis of measuring field water and fertilizer balance at daily step, we calculated WF of crop production under different test treatments. Results show that crop water requirement of rice was measured as 667.1mm and 6.2% of the total nitrogen (T-N) was washed away from farmland accompany with drainage and percolation. Average annual WF of paddy rice during 2011-2014 in Huai'an was 1.760m3/kg (33.3% green, 25.8% blue and 40.9% grey). The level of WF and blue water proportion in different locations (irrigation districts) and different years changed slightly, while the proportion of green and grey WF changed with the variance of precipitation. Green water proportion was 25.1%, 34.2 and 44.2%, while 48.0%, 40.2% and 31.0% for grey water proportion under precipitation levels of 400, 600 and 800mm, respectively. The reduced grey WF was due to increased drainage. This study not only proved the feasibility of assessing WF of crop production with field experiments, but also provided a new method for WF calculation based on field water and fertilizer migration processes.

Assessing water scarcity in agricultural production system based on the generalized water resources and water footprint framework.

An indicator, agricultural water stress index (AWSI), was established based blue-green water resources and water footprint framework for regional water scarcity in agricultural production industry evaluation. AWSI is defined as the ratio of the total agricultural water footprint (AWF) to water resources availability (AWR) in a single year. Then, the temporal and spatial patterns of AWSI in China during 1999-2014 were analyzed based on the provincial AWR and AWF quantification. The results show that the annual AWR in China has been maintained at approximately 2540Gm3, of which blue water accounted for >70%. The national annual AWF was approximately 1040Gm3 during the study period and comprised 65.6% green, 12.7% blue and 21.7% grey WFs The space difference in both the AWF for per unit arable land (AWFI) and its composition was significant. National AWSI was calculated as 0.413 and showed an increasing trend in the observed period. This index increased from 0.320 (mid-water stress level) in 2000 to 0.490 (high water stress level) in the present due to the expansion of the agricultural production scale. The Northern provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities (PAMs) have been facing high water stress, particularly the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, which was at a very high water stress level (AWSI>0.800). Humid South China faces increasingly severe water scarcity, and most of the PAMs in the region have converted from low water stress level (AWSI=0.100-0.200) to mid water stress level (AWSI=0.200-0.400). The AWSI is more appropriate for reflecting the regional water scarcity than the existing water stress index (WSI) or the blue water scarcity (BWS) indicator, particularly for the arid agricultural production regions due to the revealed environmental impacts of agricultural production. China should guarantee the sustainable use of agricultural water resources by reducing its crop water footprint.

Evolution of Pathogenesis Concept in Contemporary Chinese Medicine Theory / 中医杂志

This article compares and analyzes the content and theoretical structure of the concept of pathogenesis from the national textbooks of Basic Theory of Chinese Medicine and Diagnostics in Chinese Medicine from the first to the ninth version.The authors consider the mechanism as the main content of pathogenesis concept in contemporary Chinese medicine.During the construction of this concept,the concept of pathology has a profound influence,wh ich differs a lot from the emphasis on key in ancient pathogenesis content,mainly reflected in clinical diagnosis and treatment ideas transferring from dealing with key issues to dealing with abstract concept.This change is associated with the impact of western medicine on modern Chinese medicine,emphasizing the mechanism and so on,so that the ancient Xiang (象) concept is marginalized.

Effect of thymosin α1 combined with Xuebijing injection on serum CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 levels in severe pneumonia complicated with sepsis / 中国生化药物杂志

Objective To study the effect of thymosin α1 combined with Xuebijing injection on the levels of serum CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 in severe pneumonia complicated with sepsis.Methods 77 severe sepsis patients with sepsis from September 2014 to August 2016 were enrolled in the study.They were divided into observation group (n=39) and control group (n=38) .Patients were given early active anti-infection, nutritional support and liquid resuscitation and other comprehensive treatment, while the control group of patients with intravenous infusion of 50 mL Xuebijing injection, while the observation group with 1.6 mg thymosinα1 subcutaneous injection on the basis of control group.The levels of CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 were compared between the two groups, and the clinical effect was analyzed comprehensively .Results There was no significant difference in the levels of CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 between the two groups before treatment.After treatment, the levels of CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 levels in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05).The total effective rate of the observation group (84.6%) was significantly higher than that of the control group ( 57.9%) , the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05 ) .Conclusion Thymosin α1 combined with Xuebijing injection in treatment of severe pneumonia with sepsis is effective, can decrease the CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 levels of patient.

Bone marrow inifltration and clinical features in lymphoma patients with diffused high bone marrow glucose uptake by18F-FDG PET/CT / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) is playing an increasingly important role in the diagnosis, therapy and follow-up of lymphoma patients. This study aimed to explore clinical and pathological features and bone marrow infiltration status in lymphoma patients with diffused high bone marrow glucose uptake on18F-FDG PET/CT.Methods:It was a retrospective study. Bone marrow infiltration status, pathological and clinical data from 62 cases of pathologically diagnosed lymphoma and diffused high bone marrow glucose uptake were analyzed.Results:Distribution of histopathological subtype in those cases was in accordance with that in previously reported Chinese lymphoma patients. Significant difference was demonstrated in standard uptake value (SUV) between pa-tients with aggressive and indolent histopathological subtypes (8.43vs 5.38,P=0.048), patients with and without B symp-toms (8.30vs 5.72,P=0.033), and patients with and without bone marrow infiltration (8.78vs 6.96,P=0.020). 32 patients were diagnosed as “bone marrow infiltration” by bone marrow biopsy. There was significant difference in histopathologi-cal subtype distribution between patients with and without bone marrow infiltration (P=0.001). In patients with bone marrow infiltration, there were higher proportions of mantle cell lymphoma, nodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma, Burkitt’s lym-phoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma. In contrast, patients without bone marrow infiltration suffered more from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, peripheral T cell lymphoma, enteropathic T cell lymphoma and extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (nasal type). False positive results in bone marrow glucose uptake may be caused by fever or anemia.Conclusion:Diffused high bone marrow glucose uptake on18F-FDG PET/CT should be evaluated in combination with the uptake values, clinical features and histological subtypes, to minimize the misdiagnosis and to better guide staging and therapy of lymphoma.

Historical Investigation of the Concept of the Yin of Liver and the Yang of Liver / 浙江中医药大学学报

[Objective]For revealing the definition of the concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver ,and its historical evolution. [Method]The definition of the concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver and the mainstream view of Yin and Yang of before the Song Dynasty, Song Dynasty and modern is investigated in this paper. The definition of the concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver of different periods, different ideological background and different mainstream view of Yin and Yang is clarified by historical investigation. [Result]Because of the influence of Confucius studies, there is not the definition of the concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver based on the object of liver in the TCM theory of Han and Tang dynasties. The Yin of liver and the Yang of liver mainly refer to the yin qi and yang qi in the liver. Because of the influence of neo-confucianism, the concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver based on the object of liver was established in the TCM theory of Song and Ming dynasties. The Yin of liver and the Yang of liver mainly refer to the body and function of liver. Under the background of modernization of TCM, the concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver based on the object of liver was established in the basic theories of TCM. However, there is a controversy of the concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver, because of the effect of modern philosophy and science, ignoring the change of Chinese philosophy. [Conclusion]The clear concept of the Yin of liver and the Yang of liver of different periods, different ideological background and different mainstream views of Yin and Yang will reduce the influence of the fictional historical. Whether in ancient literature research, the liver like zang-fu theory of TCM theory, research, or the modern liver zang-fu theory of TCM, and establishing the theory of Chinese medicine has a positive meaning.

Femoral rotation influences dynamic alignment of the lower extremity in total knee arthroplasty / 中华骨科杂志

Objective To evaluate the influences of femoral rotation on dynamic alignment of the lower extremity in TKA by computer assisted surgical technology.Methods From July 2013 to August 2013,76 consecutive patients with knee osteoarthritis undergone primary-single TKA in our hospital were enrolled,including 46 males and 30 females,aged from 64 to 78 years (average,71 years).All surgeries were completed by the same professional doctor.The PFC (fixed-bearing posterior stabilized) Sigma rotating-platform was selected for all patients,and computer navigation system (Stryker(R) Navigation System Ⅱ-Cart (Stryker corporation,Kalamazoo,Michigan,USA) was used.External rotation osteotomy of the distal femur during TKA was completed according to the pre-operative external rotation angle (ERA),intraoperative transepicondylar axis (TEA) and anteroposterior (AP) line.Passive dynamic alignment of the lower extremity during knee flexion was recorded.The variation trend of hip-knee-ankle (HKA) alignment and the influences of femoral external rotation osteotomy were analysed.Results ERA calculated by the computer navigation system according to Whiteside line,TEA and the mean of Whiteside line and TEA was 5.54°±2.86°,5.21°±2.60° and 5.34°±2.38°.Compared with the ERA measured by CT,no method was better than the other two.Postoperative deviation of HKA alignment from 0° to 90° flexion was associated with the rotational alignment of the femoral component.Trend of HKA alignment during knee flexion tended to be varus,valgus or neutral according to different angles of external rotation osteotomy of the distal femur.Conclusion The HKA alignment changes during the knee flexions.External rotation osteotomy of the distal femur played a crucial role in determining dynamic HKA alignment in TKA.

Association of OPG gene single nucleotide polymorphisms with susceptibil-ity to rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese Han population / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM: To investigate the association of osteoprotegerin ( OPG) gene single nucleotide polymor-phisms (SNPs), 163A/G (rs3102735) and 245T/G (rs3134069), with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Chinese Han population .METHODS:A total of 205 patients with RA and 171 healthy control subjects were enrolled into this study.Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism and subsequently confirmed by DNA sequencing .Odds ratio ( OR) and 95%confidence intervals ( CI) were calculated for the risk genotypes and alleles .RESULTS: OPG gene polymorphisms 163A/G and 245T/G were conformed to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium .The statistical differences in the genotypes of AA , AG and GG at 163A/G locus were found in RA and controls.The G allele was associated with an increased risk of RA , with OR of 1.219 (95%CI:1.066~2.339).No significant difference was observed between RA group and control group with respect to genotypic and allelic frequencies of OPG gene 245T/G (P>0.05).CONCLUSION:The OPG gene 163A/G SNP may be associated with RA susceptibility , and G allele may be the risk factor for developing RA .

Isolation and cultivation of a wild microcytin-RR-producing cyanobacterium and verification of its toxin by high performance liquid chromatography and acute oral toxicity / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Attempting to isolate and cultivate the microcytin-RR-producing cyanobacteria from natural blooms as well as to further investigate some characteristics of their growth and metabolite toxicity.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Capillary-pipette method was used to isolate wild Microcystis strains collected from eutrophicated lakes. The isolated strains were cultured in BG11 media at (25 ± 1) °C, under 2 000 lx illumination of fluorescent light with a light-dark rhythm of 12-12 h. The growth curve was observed by measuring optical density of culture suspension, toxin-related genes and the metabolite toxins were identified separately by PCR and HPLC, and its acute toxicity was carried out by orally administered toxins to Kunming (KM) mice.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One of five toxigenic strains from 198 collected samples was confirmed to be a MC-RR producing blue-green alga by existing two specific toxin-synthesized enzyme genes and showing specific chromatographic peak of the toxin compared with standard MC-RR through both PCR and HPLC methods. The toxic strain was classified as Microcystin aeruginosa by morphologic and phylogenetic tree analysis. The growth length of the strain lasted nearly 81 days with 55-60 days' exponential phase and the maximal concentration of 5.52 × 10⁷ cell/ml. The LD50 of the MC-RR to the KM mice ranged from 10.75 mg/kg to 13.45 mg/kg of body weight. As a result of the acute toxicity, the enzymatic indexes in serum such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly higher than those in the control group. The levels of ALT, AST, ALP and LDH in the treated group at 45 min were (157.08 ± 20.38), (333.00 ± 68.53), (392.70 ± 89.59) and (1 071.13 ± 160.22) U/L respectively, and at 4 h were (514.68 ± 156.87), (593.15 ± 40.41), (618.55 ± 208.76) and (2 281.72 ± 866.67) U/L respectively, and meanwhile the values of ALT, AST, ALP and LDH in the control group were (40.30 ± 4.89), (142.70 ± 26.59), (56.90 ± 11.89) and (509.50 ± 94.75) U/L separately (t values at 45 min were -11.20, -5.77, -7.38, -6.60 respectively, and at 4 h were -6.04, -20.21, -5.35, -4.07 respectively, P values were all <0.01). The liver coefficient in the treated group at 45 min and 4 h were 6.855 ± 0.225 and 8.409 ± 0.276, significantly higher than that (5.784 ± 0.286) in the control group (t values were -3.96 and -12.22, P values were both <0.01). The histopathological changes of liver were hyperemia obviously.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Isolated from the bloom waters, a strain of Microcystis aeruginosa is obtained with characteristics of longer growth duration, positive microcystin synthetase genes, and dominant production of MC-RR. The LD50 of the extracted MC-RR administered by oral route to mice is (12.10 ± 1.35) mg/kg of body weight, and liver is the target organ of MC-RR. The existence and potential risk of MC-RR in China cannot be ignored.</p>

Antiarrhythmic effect of κ-opioid on Cx43 in rat heart during mycardial ischemia and reperfusion via inhibiting β-adrenergic receptor pathway / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the effect of U50488H(a selective κ-opioid receptor agonist)and isoproterenol(ISO,a β-adrenergic receptor agonist)on ventricular arrhythmias and Cx43 during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion in rats.Methods 60 rats were randomly divided into five groups,ie,normal control group,I/R group,ISO+I/R group,U50488H+ISO+I/R group,Nor-BNI+U50488H+ISO+I/R group.The incidence of ventricular arrhythmias and arrhythmia score were determined. The expression of Cx43mRNA was tested by RT-PCR.The expression of Cx43 protein in myocardial cell was tested by an immunohistochemical approach with a quantitative imaging system.Results ① Compared with the I/R group,arrhythmia score was increased with administration of ISO(P<0.05).U50488H intravenously injected before ISO significantly decreased the arrhythmia score(P<0.05).② Compared with the normal control group,the expression of Cx43 mRNA was decreased in the I/R group(P<0.05).With administration of ISO,the amount of Cx43 mRNA was not significantly increased.③ Compared with normal control group,total and phosphorylated Cx43 proteins were significantly decreased in the I/R group(P<0.05),and the phosphorylated Cx43 was also decreased with administration of ISO.Compared with ISO+I/R group,phosphorylated Cx43 was increased with administration of U50488H (P<0.05).Conclusion κ-opioid receptor agonist U50488 H antagonizes the arrhythmias through the regulation of Cx43 during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion via inhibiting β-adrenergic receptor pathway.

Clinical treatment for secondary glaucoma due to silicone oil migrating into anterior chamber / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To explore the clinical therapeutic methods for secondary glaucoma induced by the migration of silicone oil into the anterior chamber.Methods Totally 26 cases of such secondary glaucoma,including 22 aphakic eyes and 4 phakic eyes were subjected.Silicone oil was directly taken out for the patients whose retina was reposited well after silicone oil injection for over 3 months.The aphakic patients underwent 6 o'clock position peripheral iridectomy with laser or operation on prone position,then silicon oil was reinjected,and trabeculectomy was carried out through inferior cornea.The phakic patients received silicone oil aspiration with Healon from the anterior chamber.When silicone oil remigrated into the anterior chamber,the crystal was resected,silicone oil was reinjected,and 6 o'clock position peripheral iridectomy were performed.The patients were followed up for 3 months after the intraocular pressure(IOP) reaching normal range.Results Except one patient gave up treatment,all the patients had stable and normal IOP after 3 months of follow-up.IOP was controlled through different methods in 21 aphakic eyes:5 with prone position,5 with 6'clock position peripheral iridectomy through laser or operation,4 with silicon oil reinjecting,2 with direct aspiration of silicone oil,and 3 with trabeculectomy under cornea.IOP was controled in all of phakic eyes:3 with Healon aspiration of silicone oil,1 with crystal resection and reinjection of silicone oil.Conclusion Secondary glaucoma induced by migration of silicone oil into the anterior chamber can be satisfactorily treated by many ways.

Non-operative and operative treatments of senile comminuted distal radial fractures:a comparative research of their clinical results / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective To compare the clinical results of operation and manual reduction and plaster immobilization in management of senile comminuted distal radial fractures.Methods Retrospective analysis of the clinical data was done for the 178 senile patients with comminuted distal radial fracture who were treated from January 2000 to September 2004 in our department.102 cases were treated with manual reduction and plaster immobilization,46 cases with external fixator and limited internal fixation,and 30 cases with T-plate internal fixation.Results Follow-up duration averaged 27 months(13 to 52 months).According to Dienst criteria,the excellent rate of functional outcome was 93.5%for external fixator combined with limited internal fixation,78.4%for manual reduction and plaster immobilization and 80.0%for T-plate internal fixation.The differences were statistically significant(P

Comparison between radial head resection and open reduction and internal fixation in clinical treatment of Mason type- Ⅲ comminuted fractures of radial head / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective To compare the clinical results of radial head resection with those of open reduction and internal fixation in treatment of Mason type- Ⅲ comminuted fracture of radial head. Methods 58 cases of Mason type- Ⅲ radial head fracture were treated in our department from January, 1983 to July, 2005. 28 cases had resection of the fractured redial head, while the other 30 cases had open reduction and internal fixation. The outcomes were assessed on the basis of pain, motion, strength, radiographic findings, and elbow functional rating score. Results The resection group had a mean follow- up of 5.5 years (2 to 6), while the internal fixation group had 10 years (3 to 13). The average pain VAS (visual analog scale) score was 18.7 (11 to 25) for the resection group and 23.5 (17 to 25) for the fixation group with a P value of 0.0023. The elbow extension averaged - 12.4? in the resection group and - 5.8? in the fixation group (P0.05) , but the decrease of elbow extension and forearm rotation differed statistically between the 2 groups (P

STUDY ON THE METHOD OF DETERMINING INSOLUBLE DIETARY FIBER IN CEREALS AND CEREAL FOODS / 营养学报

The Neutral detergent method (AACC method) for determining insoluble dietary fiber in cereals and cereal foods has been used in this experiment. The results showed that the suitable size of the sample was 40-mesh and the better period for digestion in hot neutral detergent solution was one hour for determination. Decahydronaphthalene as a defoaming agent was better than n-octane. The average recoveries of two different ways were from 94.1% to 100.4%. The coefficient of variation for eight wheat samples was 1.8%. Because of its simple equipment, easy operation and good accuracy, this method would be suitable for determination of cereals and cereal foods.