Application of small bowel capsule endoscopy in children with Meckel's diverticulum.

BACKGROUND: Meckel diverticulum (MD) is an important cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in children. Small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) is a first-line examination method applied to patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, but there are few studies on its application in children with MD. This article aims to provide evidence in favor of the auxiliary diagnosis of MD in children by analyzing its characteristics using SBCE. METHODS: We retrospectively collected the clinical data of patients with suspected MD. RESULTS: A total of 58 children were included in this study. All 58 children presented overt gastrointestinal bleeding (bloody stool or melena). Capsule endoscopy identified protruding lesions in 2 cases, double-lumen changes in 30 cases (all considered as MD), vascular lesions in 7 cases, intestinal mucosal inflammatory lesions in 3 cases, ulcers or erosion in 3 cases, and no obvious abnormalities in SBCE in 12 cases. Both SBCE and technetium-99 scans were performed for 24 cases, 22 of which were diagnosed MD by their combined results, giving a diagnostic coincidence rate of 91.7%. Eight cases were highly suspected as MD but were negative for the technetium-99 scan and positive for SBCE. CONCLUSION: SBCE has high accuracy in the diagnosis of MD in children, especially when performed in combination with a technetium-99 scan, which can greatly improve the diagnostic rate of MD in children.

Thymoquinone affects hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression in pancreatic cancer cells via HSP90 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is associated with some of the worst prognoses of all major cancers. Thymoquinone (TQ) has a long history in traditional medical practice and is known for its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis and antioxidant pharmacological activities. Recent studies on hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and PC have shown that HIF-1α affects the occurrence and development of PC in many aspects. In addition, TQ could inhibit the development of renal cancer by decreasing the expression of HIF-1α. Therefore, we speculate whether TQ affects HIF-1α expression in PC cells and explore the mechanism. AIM: To elucidate the effect of TQ in PC cells and the regulatory mechanism of HIF-1α expression. METHODS: Cell counting kit-8 assay, Transwell assay and flow cytometry were performed to detect the effects of TQ on the proliferative activity, migration and invasion ability and apoptosis of PANC-1 cells and normal pancreatic duct epithelial (hTERT-HPNE) cells. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot assay were performed to detect the expression of HIF-1α mRNA and protein in PC cells. The effects of TQ on the HIF-1α protein initial expression pathway and ubiquitination degradation in PANC-1 cells were examined by western blot assay and co-immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: TQ significantly inhibited proliferative activity, migration, and invasion ability and promoted apoptosis of PANC-1 cells; however, no significant effects on hTERT-HPNE cells were observed. TQ significantly reduced the mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1α in PANC-1, AsPC-1, and BxPC-3 cells. TQ significantly inhibited the expression of the HIF-1α initial expression pathway (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) related proteins, and promoted the ubiquitination degradation of the HIF-1α protein in PANC-1 cells. TQ had no effect on the hydroxylation and von Hippel Lindau protein mediated ubiquitination degradation of the HIF-1α protein but affected the stability of the HIF-1α protein by inhibiting the interaction between HIF-1α and HSP90, thus promoting its ubiquitination degradation. CONCLUSION: The regulatory mechanism of TQ on HIF-1α protein expression in PC cells was mainly to promote the ubiquitination degradation of the HIF-1α protein by inhibiting the interaction between HIF-1α and HSP90; Secondly, TQ reduced the initial expression of HIF-1α protein by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Quercetin-induced pyroptosis in colon cancer through NEK7-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome-GSDMD signaling pathway activation.

Pyroptosis, a gasdermin-mediated lytic cell death, is a new hotspot topic in cancer research, and induction of tumor pyroptosis has emerged as a new target in cancer management. Quercetin (Que), a natural substance, demonstrates promising anticancer action. However, further information is required to fully comprehend the function and mechanism of Que in pyroptosis in colon cancer. This study revealed the underlying mechanism of Que-induced pyroptosis in colon cancer in vitro and in vivo. Que inhibited colon cancer cell growth through gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis. Depletion of GSDMD, rather than gasdermin E (GSDME), reversed the cytotoxic effects of Que on colon cancer cells. Que treatment upregulated NIMA-related kinase 7 (NEK7) protein expression, thus facilitating the assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome and cleavage of GSDMD. NEK7 silencing resulted in colon cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, NEK7 depression restrained the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome-GSDMD pathway, thus attenuating pyroptosis triggered by Que in colon cancer cells. Furthermore, lower NEK7 and NLRP3 expression levels indicated colon cancer progression. Our results unveiled a novel pattern of anti-colon cancer activity of Que, and activation of NEK7-mediated pyroptosis is potentially a promising therapeutic target for colon cancer, which provides novel experimental proof for the clinical application of Que.

Identification of anti-gastric cancer effects and molecular mechanisms of resveratrol: From network pharmacology and bioinformatics to experimental validation.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with limited therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. Resveratrol, a non-flavonoid polyphenolic compound found in a variety of Chinese medicinal materials, has shown excellent anti-GC effect. However, its exact mechanisms of action in GC have not been clarified. AIM: To identify the effects of resveratrol on GC progression and explore the related molecular mechanisms. METHODS: Action targets of resveratrol and GC-related targets were screened from public databases. The overlapping targets between the two were confirmed using a Venn diagram, and a "Resveratrol-Target-GC" network was constructed using Cytoscape software version 3.9.1. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using STRING database and core targets were identified by PPI network analysis. The Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery database was used for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. A "Target-Pathway" network was created by using Cytoscape 3.9.1. The RNA and protein expression levels of core target genes were observed using the Cancer Genome Atlas and the Human Protein Atlas databases. DriverDBv3 and Timer2.0 databases were used for survival and immune infiltration analysis. Subsequently, the findings were further verified by molecular docking technology and in vitro experiments. RESULTS: A total of 378 resveratrol action targets and 2154 GC disease targets were obtained from public databases, and 181 intersection targets between the two were screened by Venn diagram. The top 20 core targets were identified by PPI network analysis of the overlapping targets. GO function analysis mainly involved protein binding, identical protein binding, cytoplasm, nucleus, negative regulation of apoptotic process and response to xenobiotic stimulus. KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that the involved signaling pathways mainly included PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, etc. FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog (FOS) and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) were selected by differential expression analysis, and they were closely associated with immune infiltration. Molecular docking results showed that resveratrol docked well with these two targets. Resveratrol treatment arrested the cell cycle at the S phase, induced apoptosis, and weakened viability, migration and invasion in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, resveratrol could exhibit anti-GC effect by regulating FOS and MMP9 expression. CONCLUSION: The anti-GC effects of resveratrol are related to the inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, invasion and induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by targeting FOS and MMP9.

Modeling the association between functional connectivity and lateralization with the activity flow framework.

The human brain is localized and distributed. On the one hand, each cognitive function tends to involve one hemisphere more than the other, also known as the principle of lateralization. On the other hand, interactions among brain regions in the form of functional connectivity (FC) are indispensable for intact function. Recent years have seen growing interest in the association between lateralization and FC. However, FC metrics vary from spurious correlation to causal associations. If lateralization manifests local processing and causal network interactions, more causally valid FC metrics should predict lateralization index (LI) better than FC based on simple correlations. The present study directly investigates this hypothesis within the activity flow framework to compare the association between lateralization and four brain connectivity metrics: correlation-based FC, multiple-regression FC, partial-correlation FC, and combinedFC. We propose two modeling approaches: the one-step approach, which models the relationship between LI and FC directly, and the two-step approach, which predicts the brain activation and calculates the LI. Our results indicated that multiple-regression FC, partial-correlation FC, and combinedFC could significantly improve the model prediction compared to correlation-based FC, which was consistent in a spatial working memory task (typically right-lateralized) and a language task (typically left-lateralized). The one-step and two-step approach yielded similar conclusions. In addition, the finding was replicated in a clinical sample of schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BP), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study suggests that the causal interactions among brain regions help shape the lateralization pattern.

Retroperitoneal cavernous hemangioma misdiagnosed as lymphatic cyst: A case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Primary abdominal and retroperitoneal cavernous hemangioma is a vascular tumor and rarely seen in the clinic. Due to the lack of specific imaging features, retroperitoneal cavernous hemangioma cannot be diagnosed accurately. Some symptoms may develop with the enlargement of lesion volume or the occurrence of complications such as rupture or oppression. We report here a special case who was admitted with chronic abdominal pain. Admission examination suggested a retroperitoneal lymphatic duct cyst. Laparoscopic resection of the retroperitoneal mass was performed, and histological examination confirmed retroperitoneal cavernous hemangioma. CASE SUMMARY: The patient was a 43-year-old Tibetan woman with intermittent left lower abdominal pain and discomfort 3 years ago. Ultrasonography revealed a cystic mass in the retroperitoneum with clear boundaries, internal septa, and no blood flow signal. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an irregular space-occupying mass in the retroperitoneum, and retroperitoneal lymphatic cyst was considered. Plain CT scanning showed multiple cyst-like hypo-intense shadows in the retroperitoneum, partially fused into a mass, and no obvious enhancement was found on enhanced scanning. MRI showed multiple irregular clump-like long T1 and long T2 signal shadows above the pancreas, within which linear short T2 signal shadows were seen. Diffusion-weighted imaging sequence showed hypo-signal shadows, without obvious enhancement on enhanced scanning. Ultrasound, CT, and MRI all suggested the possibility of retroperitoneal lymphatic cyst. However, the patient was finally diagnosed with retroperitoneal cavernous hemangioma by pathological examination. CONCLUSION: Retroperitoneal cavernous hemangioma is a benign lesion, and it is difficult to make a diagnosis preoperatively. Surgical resection may be the only treatment, which not only allows histopathological confirmation as a diagnostic purpose and excludes any risk of malignancy, but also avoids invasion of adjacent tissues, oppression, and other complications as a therapeutic goal.

Efficacy and safety of awake prone positioning in the treatment of non-intubated spontaneously breathing patients with COVID-19-related acute respiratory failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, prone positioning has been widely applied for non-intubated, spontaneously breathing patients. However, the efficacy and safety of prone positioning in non-intubated patients with COVID-19-related acute hypoxemic respiratory failure remain unclear. We aimed to systematically analyze the outcomes associated with awake prone positioning (APP). Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science from January 1, 2020, to June 3, 2022. This study included adult patients with acute respiratory failure caused by COVID-19. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed, and the study quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. The primary outcome was the reported cumulative intubation risk across randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and the effect estimates were calculated as risk ratios (RRs; 95% confidence interval [CI]). Results: A total of 495 studies were identified, of which 10 fulfilled the selection criteria, and 2294 patients were included. In comparison to supine positioning, APP significantly reduced the need for intubation in the overall population (RR=0.84, 95% CI: 0.74-0.95). The two groups showed no significant differences in the incidence of adverse events (RR=1.16, 95% CI: 0.48-2.76). The meta-analysis revealed no difference in mortality between the groups (RR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.77-1.11). Conclusions: APP was safe and reduced the need for intubation in patients with respiratory failure associated with COVID-19. However, it did not significantly reduce mortality in comparison to usual care without prone positioning.

Effects of psychosocial function in pediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Background and Aims: Research on the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on psychosocial function in patients with pediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the psychological status of patients with PIBD before and during the pandemic, and the relationship between mental health and disease activity. Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort study. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the relationship between demographic, clinical data and psychological data (questionnaires) of PIBD patients before and during the epidemic. The anxiety and depression emotional status of the guardians during the pandemic were evaluated. Results: In the PIBD follow-up cohort, 42 patients(male 61.9%) were included. Female with PIBD had lower pediatric quality of life inventory(PedsQL) scores (P = 0.007) and higher spence children's anxiety scale(SCAS) scores (P = 0.038) than male. The pandemic did not have a substantial impact on PedsQL, pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI), SCAS, or children's depression inventory(CDI) in patients with PIBD. The self-rating anxiety scale(SAS) score, anxiety rate, self-rating depression scale(SDS) score, and depression rate of PIBD guardians were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (SAS, P = 0.008; SDS, P = 0.001). Conclusions: Female children with PIBD were more vulnerable to decreased QOL and increased anxiety than male children. The anxiety and depression status of PIBD guardians were significantly higher than those of healthy controls during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly affect quality of life(QOL), sleep, anxiety, or depressive mood of patients with PIBD in our study.

Exogenous methyl jasmonate induced cassava defense response and enhanced resistance to Tetranychus urticae.

Exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) could activate plant defense response against the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch, in different plants. However, whether MeJA can also serve as an elicitor in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) remains unknown. In this study, induced defense responses were investigated in TSSM-resistant cassava variety C1115 and TSSM-susceptible cassava variety KU50 when applied with MeJA. The performance of TSSM feeding on cassava plants that were pre-treated with various concentrations of MeJA was first evaluated. Subsequently, the activities of antioxidative enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase), detoxification enzymes (glutathione S-transferase, cytochrome P450 and carboxylesterase) and digestive enzymes (protease, amylase and invertase) in TSSM were analyzed at days 1, 2, 4 and 8 post-feeding. The results showed that MeJA treatment can induce cassava defense responses to TSSM in terms of reducing egg production and adult longevity as well as slowing development and prolonging the egg stage. Noticeably, C1115 exhibited stronger inhibition of TSSM development and reproduction than KU50. In addition, the activities of all the tested enzymes were induced in both C1115 and KU50, the most in C1115. We conclude that exogenous methyl jasmonate can induce cassava defense responses and enhance resistance to TSSM.

Methyl Jasmonate-Treated Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Depresses Performance and Alters Activities of Protective, Detoxification and Digestive Enzymes of Green Peach Aphid [Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)].

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is a phytohormone that has been used to artificially induce plant resistance against multiple arthropod herbivores. However, it is still uncertain whether MeJA can trigger pepper plant resistance against Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) (green peach aphid, GPA). In this study, we assessed the effects of different concentrations (0, 0.008, 0.04, 0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 mM) of MeJA-treated pepper on the development and reproduction performance of GPA to identify an appropriate concentration for vigorous resistance enhancement. MeJA dose was applied on the pepper to investigate the changes in activities of protective enzyme (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; peroxidase, POD and polyphenol oxidase, PPO), detoxification enzymes (acetylcholinesterase, AchE; glutathione S-transferase, GSTs; cytocrome P450, CYP450, and carboxylesterase, CarE), and digestive enzymes (protease, PRO and amylase, AMY) in GPA. The results showed that all concentrations of MeJA-treated pepper significantly suppressed GPA performance, wherein 0.2 mM was the optimal concentration, as it presented the lowest intrinsic rate of increase (rm), finite rate of increase (λ), and the highest population doubling time (Dt) values. Furthermore, the protective enzymes (SOD and CAT), detoxification enzymes (GSTs, CYP450, and CarE), and AMY activities increased significantly in MeJA-treated groups than the control group, while the POD and PPO activities were remarkly inhibited under 0.2 mM treatment. These findings indicate that exogenous spraying of 0.2 mM of MeJA significantly enhanced pepper resistance against GPA. The result of this study suggests MeJA application can be used as a promising strategy in integrative management of this insect pest.

Recent trends of phosphorus-containing flame retardants modified polypropylene composites processing.

Polypropylene has been used for applications requiring high mechanical properties, good adhesion, chemical stability and insulation. Whereas, Polypropylene itself is flammable, and its limiting oxygen index (LOI) is low, which cannot pass the UL-94 combustion test. Therefore, extensive use will cause a serious threat to human life and property. With the wide application of thermoplastic polypropylene in industry, the development of environmentally friendly flame retardant materials has become an important research direction. For the past dozen years, researchers have been exploring flame retardants with high flame retardant efficiency, low toxicity, less smoke or other excellent performance flame retardants. This paper reviews the research progress of some phosphorus-containing flame retardants on the flame retardant properties of polypropylene in recent years. Phosphorus flame retardant is a flame retardant with high flame retardant efficiency, good stability and wide application. The types and flame retardant properties of phosphorus flame retardant will be introduced, and the future research of phosphorus flame retardant is summarized, direction and development opportunities.

Immunotherapy response and microenvironment provide biomarkers of immunotherapy options for patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Immunotherapy has been a promising approach option for lung cancer. Method: All the open-accessed data was obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. All the analysis was conducted using the R software analysis. Results: Firstly, the genes differentially expressed in lung cancer immunotherapy responders and non-responders were identified. Then, the lung adenocarcinoma immunotherapy-related genes were determined by LASSO logistic regression and SVM-RFE, respectively. A total of 18 immunotherapy response-related genes were included in our investigation. Subsequently, we constructed the logistics score model. Patients with high logistics score had a better clinical effect on immunotherapy, with 63.2% of patients responding to immunotherapy, while only 12.1% of patients in the low logistics score group responded to immunotherapy. Moreover, we found that pathways related to immunotherapy were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways such as fatty acid metabolism, bile acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and carcinogenic pathways such as KRAS signaling. Logistics score was positively correlated with NK cells activated, Mast cells resting, Monocytes, Macrophages M2, dendritic cells resting, dendritic cells activated and eosinophils, while was negatively related to Tregs, macrophages M0, macrophages M1, and mast cells activated. In addition, ERVH48-1 was screened for single-cell exploration. The expression of ERVH48-1 increased in patients with distant metastasis, and ERVH48-1 was associated with pathways such as pancreas beta cells, spermatogenesis, G2M checkpoints and KRAS signaling. The result of quantitative real-time PCR showed that ERVH48-1 was upregulated in lung cancer cells. Conclusion: Our study developed an effective signature to predict the immunotherapy response of lung cancer patients.

Overexpression of leucoanthocyanidin reductase or anthocyanidin reductase elevates tannins content and confers cassava resistance to two-spotted spider mite.

The two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) is a destructive cassava pest. Intensive demonstration of resistance mechanism greatly facilitates the creation of TSSM-resistant cassava germplasm. Gene to metabolite network plays a crucial role in modulating plant resistance, but little is known about the genes and related metabolites which are responsible for cassava resistance to TSSM. Here, a highly resistant (HR) and a highly susceptible (HS) cassava cultivar were used, integrative and comparative transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses between these two cultivars after TSSM infestation revealed that several genes and metabolites were closely related and significantly different in abundance. In particular, the expression of leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) and anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) genes showed a high positive correlation with most of the metabolites in the tannin biosynthesis pathway. Furthermore, transgenic cassava lines overexpressing either of the genes elevated tannin concentrations and conferred cassava resistance to TSSM. Additionally, different forms of tannins possessed distinct bioactivity on TSSM, of which total condensed tannins (LC50 = 375.68 mg/l) showed maximum lethal effects followed by procyanidin B1 (LC50 = 3537.10 mg/l). This study accurately targets LAR, ANR and specific tannin compounds as critical genes and metabolites in shaping cassava resistance to TSSM, which could be considered as biomarkers for evaluation and creation of pest-resistant cassava germplasm.

[Antibiotic Pollution Characteristics and Ecological Risk Assessment in Jinjiang River Basin, Jiangxi Province].

The concentration and distribution characteristics of 27 antibiotics, including 8 sulfonamides, 9 quinolones, 4 tetracyclines, 4 macrolides, and 2 nitroimidazoles, in the surface water, groundwater, and wastewater of the Jinjiang River basin in Jiangxi province were determined using solid-phase extraction combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The results showed that there was antibiotic pollution in the waters of the Jinjiang River basin. A total of 20 antibiotics were detected in the surface water, with a concentration range of 32.3-280 ng·L-1. There were 15 types of antibiotics detected in the groundwater, and the concentration range was 28.4-55.8 ng·L-1. Twenty-one types of antibiotics were detected in the wastewater, with a concentration range of 231-8.71×104 ng·L-1. A comparison with the concentrations of eight common antibiotics in rivers and lakes in China and abroad showed that the pollution level in the Jinjiang River basin was at a medium level. By comparing the concentrations of sulfamethoxazole in groundwater from domestic and international samples, the groundwater pollution in the Jinjiang River basin was clearly in the middle and lower range. A comparison of the concentrations of the three antibiotics in the aquaculture wastewater from domestic and abroad samples indicated that the pollution level of sulfadiazine in the aquaculture wastewater from the Jinjiang River basin was relatively high. The ecological risk assessment results showed that there were nine medium- and high-risk antibiotics, which were clarithromycin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, sulfathiazole, roxithromycin, tetracycline, ofloxacin, enrofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole; the rest were low-risk or no-risk antibiotics.

Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Analysis of the Mechanism Underlying Yikunyin's Therapeutic Effect on Menopausal Syndrome.

Objective: Yikunyin is an empirical prescription that exhibits good efficacy in the clinical treatment of menopausal syndrome; however, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study investigates the mechanism implicated in the therapeutic effect of Yikunyin by identifying its hub genes, central pathways, and key active ingredients. Method: The active ingredients and targets of Yikunyin were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database, whereas the targets related to menopausal syndrome were obtained from GeneCards, PharmGKB, Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), and Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). To reveal the pharmacological mechanism, the component-target and the intersecting protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed, and Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed. Finally, molecular docking was carried out to assess the strength of binding between the key active ingredients and key targets. Results: A total of 418 targets and 121 active ingredients were identified in Yikunyin. The intersection of Yikunyin's 418 targets with the 2822 targets related to menopausal syndrome shows that there are 247 common targets that can be considered potential targets of Yikunyin in the treatment of menopausal syndrome. The topology analysis of the constructed PPI network conducted using the Cytoscape software shows that there are 15 hub genes implicated in the therapeutic effect of Yikunyin: AKT1, PRKCA, TLR9, CXCL10, PRKCD, PARP1, ABCB1, TP53, CAV1, MAPK8, PPARA, GRB2, EGFR, IL-6, and JAK2. Moreover, the key active components acting on these genes are paeoniflorin, luteolin, quercetin, beta-sitosterol, and kaempferol. GO and KEGG analyses indicate that Yikunyin can treat menopausal syndrome by regulating cellular response to chemical stress (GO:0062197), cellular response to oxidative stress (GO:0034599), phosphatase binding (GO:0019902), cytokine receptor binding (GO:0005126), PI3K-Akt signaling (hsa04151), lipid and atherosclerosis (hsa05417), and hepatitis B (hsa05161). Finally, the results of molecular docking suggest that the key active ingredients and key targets can bind well, with binding energies of less than -5 kJ/mol. Conclusion: The research conducted herein reveals that Yikunyin treats menopausal syndrome by targeting AKT1 and IL-6 and by regulating the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Moreover, it provides a new idea for understanding the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicines.

Dietary phillygenin supplementation ameliorates aflatoxin B1-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in chicken liver.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a mycotoxin contaminating food and feed, can trigger liver immune toxicity and threaten the poultry industry. Phillygenin (PHI) is a natural lignan derived primarily from Forsythia suspensa with hepatoprotective pharmacological and medicinal properties. This research aimed to investigate the preventive effects of PHI on the toxicity of AFB1 in the liver of chickens. Chickens were administered with AFB1 (2.8 mg/kg) and/or treated with PHI (24 mg/kg) for 33 days. The histopathological changes, serum biochemical indices, oxidative damage, inflammatory mediators, apoptosis, and activation of the NF-κB and Nrf2 signaling pathways were measured. Results revealed that dietary PHI ameliorated liver function indicators, reduced the malondialdehyde and inflammatory mediator production and the apoptotic cell number, and increased the antioxidant enzyme contents and Bcl-2 level. The quantitative realtime PCR and Western blot results revealed that PHI reduced p53, cytochrome c, Bax, caspase-9, and caspase-3 levels, normalized the NF-κB p65 phosphorylation, and upregulated the Nrf2 and its downstream genes expression in chicken liver. These results indicated that PHI has beneficial effects on AFB1-induced liver damage, oxidative damage, inflammatory response, apoptosis, and immunotoxicity by inhibiting NF-κB and activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway in chickens. This study provides new insight into the therapeutic uses of PHI.

Association between Helicobacter pylori and risk of childhood asthma: a meta-analysis of 18 observational studies.

Objective: The association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and childhood asthma is unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the association between H. pylori and childhood asthma.Methods: A literature search, study selection, and data extraction were performed independently and in duplicate. Data were analyzed using STATA software.Results: Eighteen studies enrolling 17,196 children were analyzed. All studies were of moderate-to-high quality. Four studies subcategorized H. pylori infection according to CagA status. Overall, there was a significant negative association between H. pylori and risk for childhood asthma (OR = 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54-0.87; P = 0.002), with no/marginal publication bias identified by the Egger's test and the Begg's test (P = 0.162 and P = 0.198, respectively). The observed inverse association persisted for CagA(+) strains of H. pylori (OR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35-0.96; P = 0.034) but not for CagA(-) strains (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.12-2.28; P = 0.387). There was no significant difference between studies with respect to study design, participant age, geographical region, and method of measuring H. pylori.Conclusion: The evidence suggests that H. pylori infection, particularly CagA(+) H. pylori infection, is inversely associated with the risk of childhood asthma. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at publisher's website.

Molecular and pharmacological characterization of biogenic amine receptors from the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella.

BACKGROUD: Insect biogenic amines play important roles in mediating behavioral and physiological processes. They exert their effects by binding to biogenic amine receptors (BARs), which are specific receptor proteins in the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily. BAR genes have been cloned and characterized from multiple model insects, including Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Bombyx mori, Apis mellifera and Tribolium castaneum. However, relatively little work has addressed the molecular properties, expression profiles, and pharmacological characterization of BARs from other insects, including important pests. RESULTS: In this study, we cloned 17 genes encoding putative biogenic amine receptor proteins from Plutella xylostella, a global pest of Brassica crops. These PxBAR genes were five octopamine receptors (PxOA1, PxOA2B1, PxOA2B2, PxOA2B3, and PxOA3), three tyramine receptors (PxTAR1A, PxTAR1B, and PxTAR2), four dopamine receptors (PxDOP1, PxDOP2, PxDOP3, and PxDopEcR), and five serotonin receptors (Px5-HT1A , Px5-HT1B , Px5-HT2A , Px5-HT2B , and Px5-HT7 ). All PxBARs showed considerable sequence identity with orthologous BARs, and phylogenetic analysis clustered the receptors within their respective groups while preserving organismal evolutionary relationships. We investigated their molecular properties and expression profiles, and pharmacologically characterized the dopamine receptor, PxDOP2. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides important information and resources on biogenic amine receptors from P. xylostella, which suggests potential target sites for controlling this pest species. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mitochondrial analysis of oribatid mites provides insights into their atypical tRNA annotation, genome rearrangement and evolution.

BACKGROUND: The mitochondrial (mt) genomes of Sarcoptiformes mites typically contain 37 genes. Although the loss of genes is rare in Sarcoptiformes mite mitogenomes, two of the six previously reported oribatid mites (Acariforms: Sarcoptiformes) are reported to have lost parts of their tRNA genes. To confirm whether the tRNA genes were indeed lost and whether the loss is universal, we re-annotated the available oribatid mite sequences and sequenced the mitogenome of Oribatula sakamorii. METHODS: The mitogenome of O. sakamorii was sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq sequencer. The mt tRNA gene was annotated using multi-software combined with a manual annotation approach. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using the maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods with concatenated nucleotide and amino acid sequences. RESULTS: The mitogenomes of O. sakamorii contained 37 genes, including 22 tRNA genes. We identified all mt tRNA genes that were reported as "lost" in Steganacarus magnus and Paraleius leontonychus and revealed certain atypical tRNA annotation errors in oribatid mite sequences. Oribatid mite mitogenomes are characterized by low rates of genetic rearrangement, with six or seven gene blocks conserved between the mitogenome of all species and that of ancestral arthropods. Considering the relative order of the major genes (protein-coding genes and rRNAs), only one or two genes were rearranged with respect to their positions in the ancestral genome. We explored the phylogenetic relationships among the available oribatid mites, and the results confirmed the systematic position of Hermannia in the Crotonioidea superfamily. This was also supported by the synapomorphic gene-derived boundaries. CONCLUSIONS: The tRNA "lost" phenomenon is not universal in oribatid mites. Rather, highly atypical secondary structure of the inferred mt tRNA genes made them unidentifiable using a single type of tRNA search program. The use of multi-software combined with a manual annotation approach can improve the accuracy of tRNA gene annotation. In addition, we identified the precise systematic position of Hermannia and validated that Astigmata is nested in Oribatida.