A real-world study of the effects of endocrine therapy on liver function in breast cancer / 中华外科杂志

Objective: To compare the effect of different endocrine therapy drugs on liver function in patients with early breast cancer. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to include 4 318 patients with early breast cancer who received adjuvant endocrine therapy in Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2021. All the patients were female, aged (51.2±11.3) years (range: 20 to 87 years), including 1 182 patients in the anastrozole group, 592 patients in the letrozole group, 332 patients in the exemestane group, and 2 212 patients in the toremifene group. The mixed effect model was used to analyze and compare the liver function levels of patients at baseline, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 60 months of medication, and 1 year after drug withdrawal among the three aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole, letrozole, exemestane) and toremifene. Results: ALT and AST of the 4 groups were significantly higher than the baseline level at 6 months (all P<0.01), and there were no significant differences in total bilirubin, direct bilirubin and AST levels among all groups one year after drug withdrawal (P: 0.538, 0.718, 0.061, respectively). There was no significant difference in the effect of all groups on AST levels (F=2.474, P=0.061), and in the effect of three aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane) on ALT levels (anastrozole vs. letrozole, P=0.182; anastrozole vs. exemestane, P=0.535; letrozole vs. exemestane, P=0.862). Anastrozole and letrozole had significantly higher effects on ALT levels than toremifene (P<0.01, P=0.009). The proportion of abnormal liver function in each group increased significantly at 6 months compared with baseline, and then the proportion showed a decreasing trend over time. Conclusions: Three aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane) and toremifene can significantly increase the level of ALT and AST in patients with breast cancer, and the levels can gradually recover to the baseline after 1 year of drug withdrawal. The effect of non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole, letrozole) on ALT levels is greater than toremifene.

Safety and effectiveness of proximal aortic repair versus total arch replacement for the treatment of acute type A aortic dissection: A systematic review and meta-analysis / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of proximal aortic repair (PAR) versus total arch replacement (TAR) for treatment of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). Methods     An electronic search was conducted for clinical controlled studies on PAR versus TAR for patients with ATAAD published in Medline via PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Database and CNKI since their inception up to April 30, 2022. The quality of each study included was assessed by 2 evaluators and the necessary data were extracted. STATA 16 software was used to perform statistical analysis of the available data. Results    A total of 28 cohort studies involving 7 923 patients with ATAAD were included in this meta-analysis, of whom 5 710 patients received PAR and 2 213 patients underwent TAR, and 96.43% of the studies (27/28) were rated as high quality. The meta-analysis results showed that: (1) patients who underwent PAR had lower incidences of 30 d mortality [RR=0.62, 95%CI (0.50, 0.77), P<0.001], in-hospital mortality [RR=0.64, 95%CI (0.54, 0.77), P<0.001], and neurologic deficiency after surgery [RR=0.84, 95%CI (0.72, 0.98), P=0.032] than those who received TAR; (2) the cardiopulmonary bypass time [WMD=–52.07, 95%CI (–74.19, –29.94), P<0.001], circulatory arrest time [WMD=–10.14, 95%CI (–15.02, –5.26), P<0.001], and operation time [WMD=–101.68, 95%CI (–178.63, –24.73), P<0.001] were significantly shorter in PAR than those in TAR; (3) there was no statistical difference in mortality after discharge, rate of over 5-year survival, renal failure after surgery and re-intervention, volume of red blood cells transfusion and fresh-frozen plasma transfusion, or hospital stay between two surgical procedures. Conclusion     Compared with TAR, PAR has a shorter operation time and lower early and in-hospital mortality, but there is no difference in long-term outcomes or complications between the two procedures for patients with ATAAD.

Effect of corilagin on cholesterol metabolism in macrophages and its mechanism / 中国药理学通报

Aim To elucidate the effect of corilagin (Cor) on cholesterol metabolism in macrophages and the underlying mechanism. Methods Molecular docking was applied to predict the protein target of Cor on cellular cholesterol metabolism. The RAW264.7 macrophage foam model induced by 80 mg • L

Research advances in nano-drug delivery system in liver cancer treatment / 临床肝胆病杂志

Traditional surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy still play a dominant role in the treatment of liver cancer; however, their application in liver cancer patients is often limited by the toxic and side effects, unstable efficacy, and unclear targets of chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, in order to improve the efficacy of drugs in the treatment of liver cancer, nanomedicine, which has been developed in the biomedical field in recent years, has attracted more and more attention. Nano-drug delivery system has been gradually applied in clinical research for its advantages of low toxicity, wide bioavailability, controllable drug release, and good stability. This article focuses on the latest research advances in nano-drug delivery system in the treatment of liver cancer.

Ascyrones A-E, type B bicyclic ployprenylated acylphloroglucinol derivatives from Hypericum ascyron / 中国天然药物

Five new polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (1-5), ascyrones A-E, and four known compounds (6-9) were isolated from the aerial parts of Hypericum ascyron. All of the isolates containing a bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,4,9-trione core and a benzoyl group, belonged to type B bicyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (BPAPs). Their structures and absolute configurations were established based on spectroscopic analyses and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. The anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and cytotoxicity activities of compounds 1-4 and 6-9 were evaluated. Compound 6 exhibited obvious anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells. Compounds 1 and 9 exhibited slight cytotoxicity against Hep3B cells. Meanwhile, compound 1 showed mild neuroprotective activity against corticosterone (CORT)-induced PC12 cell damage at 10 μmol·L-1.

Analysis of risk factors and construction of prediction a risk score scale of hemorrhagic complications at the puncture site after cerebrovascular intervention with femoral artery access / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To analyze the risk factors associated with hemorrhagic complications at the puncture site after femoral artery access cerebrovascular interventions and construct a bleeding risk scale.Methods:Two hundred and fifteen patients who underwent femoral artery puncture interventions in the neurointerventional department ward of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from April to October 2020 were selected for the study, including 60 cases in the complication group and 155 cases in the control group. The patients′ general data, interventional procedure-related data and laboratory tests were analyzed univariately and then incorporated into a binary multi-factor logistic regression analysis to determine independent risk factors, and a bleeding risk scale was constructed according to the regression model.Results:Compared with the control group, there was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of women, diabetes mellitus, use of glucose-lowering drugs, proportion of (anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs) use and irritability in the complication group ( χ2 values were 4.94-15.81, all P<0.05); age, BMI, HbA1c, prothrombin time activity, and sheath size and operative time were higher than those of the control group, and prothrombin time and creatinine values were lower than those of the control group, with statistically significant differences ( t values of -6.25 to 2.80, respectively, all P<0.05). Multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that gender ( OR=0.09, 95% CI 0.025-0.302), BMI ( OR=1.736, 95% CI 1.462-2.115), HbA1c ( OR=1.775, 95% CI 1.107-2.845), and use of anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs ( OR= 0.082, 95% CI 0.015- 0.448) and time to surgery ( OR=1.031, 95% CI 1.012-1.052) were independent risk factors for bleeding complications. In the risk scale: the total score was -3 to 13, and risk existed for a score ≥5. The sensitivity of this scale was 83.3%, the specificity was 92.3%, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.878 ( P<0.001, 95% CI 0.818 to 0.938). Conclusions:Female, high BMI, high HbA1c, anticoagulant/antiplatelet drug use, and long procedure time can increase the risk of bleeding complications at the femoral artery puncture. The predictive model has good predictive performance and can be extended for use.

Diaporthe taoicola and D. siamensis, Two New Records on Citrus sinensisin China

Two Diaporthe species isolated from fruit of Citrus sinensis in China were characterized based on morphology and multilocus phylogeny of ITS, tef1, and tub2 gene sequences. The phylogeny indicated that the two species match Diaporthe taoicola and D. siamensis. A critical examination of phenotypic characteristics confirmed the phylogenetic results. Diaporthe taoicola was morphologically characterized by producing Alpha conidia with tapering toward both ends. Meanwhile, D. siamensis produced cylindrical or ellipsoidal Alpha conidia with two oil drops. Pathogenicity tests revealed that both species were pathogenic to fruit of C. sinensis. To our knowledge, the two species were firstly reported on Citrus sinensis in China.

Diaporthe taoicola and D. siamensis, Two New Records on Citrus sinensisin China

Two Diaporthe species isolated from fruit of Citrus sinensis in China were characterized based on morphology and multilocus phylogeny of ITS, tef1, and tub2 gene sequences. The phylogeny indicated that the two species match Diaporthe taoicola and D. siamensis. A critical examination of phenotypic characteristics confirmed the phylogenetic results. Diaporthe taoicola was morphologically characterized by producing Alpha conidia with tapering toward both ends. Meanwhile, D. siamensis produced cylindrical or ellipsoidal Alpha conidia with two oil drops. Pathogenicity tests revealed that both species were pathogenic to fruit of C. sinensis. To our knowledge, the two species were firstly reported on Citrus sinensis in China.

Factors influencing the delay of seeking medical treatment among students with tuberculosis in Shaanxi Province from 2015 to 2019 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To analyze the delay of seeking medical treatment and associated factors among students with tuberculosis in Shaanxi Province from 2015 to 2019, so as to provide scientific evidence for the early detection and control of tuberculosis epidemics in schools.@*Methods@#Data from 6 739 students with pulmonary tuberculosis registered in Shaanxi Province from 2015 to 2019 were collected from the TB Management Information System of China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the characteristics and influencing factors of pulmonary tuberculosis patients.@*Results@#Among 6 739 cases of students with pulmonary tuberculosis from 2015 to 2019 in Shaanxi Province, 3 040 patients delayed seeking medical treatment. The rate of delayed treatment was as high as 45.1%, and the median delayed treatment time was 38(24, 68) days. From 2015 to 2019, the overall delay rate of students showed a downward trend, with a significant difference(χ 2=120.45, P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in delay rate between different patient sources, diagnosis results and regions(χ 2=274.19, 26.75, 24.12, P<0.05), among which for factors such as tracing, tuberculosis pleurisy, doctor delay in the northern part of Shaanxi, the rates were higher. The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the regions of northern Shaanxi(OR=2.74), central Shaanxi(OR=2.09), and southern Shaanxi(OR=2.39), and clinical consultation(OR=1.84), recommendation(OR=2.81), tracing(OR=3.28), and tracing (OR=6.07) were risk factors for delay of consultation. A lack of etiology results(OR=0.47) was to protect delay of consultation.@*Conclusion@#From 2015 to 2019 in Shaanxi Province, a delay in seeking medical treatment was relatively common among students with tuberculosis. The region, source of patients and diagnosis results were factors that influenced the delay in finding tuberculosis patients in Shaanxi Province.

Identification and Characterization of Gonatobotryum apiculatum CausingLeaf Spot and Blight on Sinowilsonia henryi

Sinowilsonia henryi is a rare and endangered plant, as well as an endemic species in China.In July 2018, leaf spot and blight disease was observed on S. henryi in Yichang, Hubei,China. A fungus isolated from disease tissues was identified as Gonatobotryum apiculatumbased on morphology and sequence analyses of ITS and LSU regions. Phylogenetic analysesindicated that the species belongs to Dothioraceae (Dothideales). Morphologically, the speciesproduced two distinct types of conidia from authentic media, both conidia weredescribed here. Pathogenicity tests showed that the fungus is a pathogen causing leaf spotson S. henryi. This is the first report of leaf spot and blight disease on S. henryi caused byG. apiculatum in China.

Identification and Characterization of Gonatobotryum apiculatum CausingLeaf Spot and Blight on Sinowilsonia henryi

Sinowilsonia henryi is a rare and endangered plant, as well as an endemic species in China.In July 2018, leaf spot and blight disease was observed on S. henryi in Yichang, Hubei,China. A fungus isolated from disease tissues was identified as Gonatobotryum apiculatumbased on morphology and sequence analyses of ITS and LSU regions. Phylogenetic analysesindicated that the species belongs to Dothioraceae (Dothideales). Morphologically, the speciesproduced two distinct types of conidia from authentic media, both conidia weredescribed here. Pathogenicity tests showed that the fungus is a pathogen causing leaf spotson S. henryi. This is the first report of leaf spot and blight disease on S. henryi caused byG. apiculatum in China.

Effect of Gastrodiae Rhizoma Powder on Prevention of Dementia and Oxidation Resistance in Mice / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To study whether long-term administration of Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder can improve the learning and memory ability of APPswe/PSldE9 double transgenic (APP/PS1) Alzheimer' s disease(AD) model mice and delay the progress of AD whether these effects are related to the regulation of antioxidant stress pathway in Kelch-like epoxylopropylamine-related protein 1(Keap1)-nuclear factor E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase(HO)-1, and further explore the neuroprotective mechanism of Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder and its role in the prevention and treatment of AD. Method::APP/PS1 double transgenic mice model, the mice consisted of five groups: normal, normal administration group, model group, Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder prevention group, Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder treatment group.The mice in the normal administration group and the Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder prevention group were given the same dose of Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder (1.5 g·kg-1) daily at the age of 8 weeks.The normal group and model group were given the same amount of normal saline at the same time, until 24 weeks old, Morris water maze was used to test the learning and memory ability of mice, and the treatment group was treated with Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder at 22 weeks old.The mice were given the same dose of Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder (1.5 g·kg-1) every day for 2 weeks.The number of crossing platform, escape latency and platform residence time of mice were detected by Morris water maze from 24 weeks old to 24 weeks old.RNA, Real-time PCR was extracted from mouse hippocampus to detect the mRNA level of Nrf2, HO-1, Keap1, and Western blot was used to detect the expression of Nrf2, HO-1, Keap1 protein in mouse hippocampus. Result::Compared with normal group, the water maze test showed that the learning and memory ability of model group was lower than that of the model group (P<0.01), and the learning and memory ability of Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder prevention group and Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder treatment group was significantly higher than that of model group (P<0.01). Compared with normal group, the levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and protein in the hippocampus in model group decreased in varying degrees (P<0.05). Compared with model group, Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder prevented Nrf2, in the hippocampus of mice in model group.The level of HO-1 in mRNA and protein increased in different degrees (P<0.05, P<0.01). Levels of Nrf2, HO-1 mRNA in Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder treatment group was significantly higher than that in Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the expression of Nrf2, HO-1 protein.There was no significant difference in mRNA and protein levels of Keap1 among different groups. Conclusion::Morris water maze test and other results showed that Gastrodiae Rhizoma powder could improve the learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice, and it may enhance the expression of downstream antioxidant genes by regulating Keap1-Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.And then improve the learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice.

Expression and Significance of BTLA and Its Ligand HVEM in Patients with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the expression and significance of B and T lymphocyte weakening factor (BTLA) in patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML).@*METHODS@#Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of BTLA and its ligand HVEM mRNA in 11 patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and 11 normal donors. Flow cytometry was used to detect expression of BTLA and its HVEM on the cell surface of peripheral blood T lymphocytes and γδ T cells.@*RESULTS@#The median values of BTLA and its ligand HVEM mRNA expression in peripheral blood of patients with CMML were 0.009% and 559.4%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of normal controls (0.053% and 1031%)(P<0.001). The expression level of BTLA and HVEM on cell surface of peripheral lymphocytes was not significantly different from that in normal controls (P=0.3031 and 0.2576), however, the proportion of peripheral blood T lymphocytes in patients with CMML (median: 37.73%) was significantly lower than that in controls (median 69.23%)(P=0.0005). The expression of BTLA on the surface of γδ T cells in peripheral blood of patients with CMML (median: 23.26%) was significantly lower than that of the controls (median: 52.64%) (P<0.05), and there was no significant abnormality in HVEM expression (P=0.2791).@*CONCLUSION@#The expression of BTLA and its ligand HVEM, the proportion of T lymphocytes and the expression of BTLA on the surface of γδ T cells in patients with CMML are reduced. The effects of these abnormalities on T cell function and prognosis and efficacy of patients need to be further observed.

Effects of Aidi Injection () with Western Medical Therapies on Quality of Life for Patients with Primary Liver Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effects of Aidi Injection (, AD) in combination with Western medical therapies (WMT) in patients with primary liver cancer (PLC).@*METHODS@#Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing AD plus WMT with WMT alone were retrieved from inception to March 2013 by retrieving the literature database thoroughly and systematically. The extracted data from included studies were analyzed and synthesized by Review Manager 5.2 software. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of included studies, and Begg's and Egger's tests were used to evaluate the potential presence of publication bias. The studies were divided into 7 separate subgroups in terms of quality of life (QOL), recent chemotherapy and the incidence of leukocyte reduction. The subgroup analysis was applied to assess the heterogeneity between included researches, and the sensitivity analysis was used to weigh the stability of studies.@*RESULTS@#Twenty-four RCTs were included in this study. Compared with WMT used alone, AD as additional intervention was more effective on improving QOL (P<0.01), increasing short-term efficacy (P<0.01), prolonging life (P<0.05 or P<0.01), relieving clinical symptoms (P<0.01), and reducing adverse events (e.g. reduce white blood cell counts, P=0.002; reduce in platelet counts, P<0.01). Subgroup analysis showed that the hepatic artery interventions with AD was superior in improving QOL (P<0.01) and enhancing short-term response rates (P=0.007) and reducing white blood cell counts (P=0.0004) than hepatic artery interventions alone (P<0.01). The chemoembolization plus AD or the chemotherapy plus AD were both better than chemoembolization or the chemotherapy alone in improving the QOL and short-term response rate (P<0.05 or P<0.01).@*CONCLUSIONS@#AD in combination with WMT improves QOL in patients with PLC. Considering the inherent limitations of the included studies, further well-designed, rigorously performed, high-quality, and double-blinded RCTs with large sample sizes are needed.

Establishment of an antibacterially effective components fingerprint for quality evaluation of Scutellariae Radix (Huangqin) / 药学学报

A chemical fingerprint is an important mean for quality control of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM); however, there is much redundant information in a conventional fingerprint that can affect its availability and accuracy. In this work, the antibacterial biopotency of Scutellariae Radix (Huangqin, HQ) was determined according to the parallel line method of quantitative response. HPLC was adopted to detect the chemical fingerprint of HQ; Grey relational analysis (GRA) was used to identify the primary effective components. The results showed that the antibacterial biopotency of 15 batches of HQ ranged from 0 to 1 000 U·g-1 and the average potency was 556.29 ± 258.57 U·g-1 (1 U is equivalent to the bacteriostatic activity of 2.25 μg gentamicin). There were 34 characteristic peaks in the fingerprints of the samples and their similarities were 0.255-0.991. Eight components (P33, P30/baicalein, P19/baicalin, P15, P29, P34, P31/wogonin and P28) are positively related to antibacterial biopotency and selected from the top ten components of the grey correlation sequence to define the antibacterially effective components fingerprint of HQ. This fingerprint can clearly distinguish the commodity specification and grade, and can also characterize the morphology, components and the bacteriostatic potency differences of HQ. In summary, we established an antibacterially effective components fingerprint which provides simplified information on the antibacterial activity of Scutellariae Radix and could significantly improve the efficacy, specificity, and discriminative ability of the fingerprint for HQ, and could be a useful reference for the comprehensive quality evaluation of other TCM.

Changes of WT1 mRNA expression level in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes after hypomethylating agents and its prognostic significance / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To monitor the WT1 mRNA level and its dynamic changes in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) after hypomethylating agents (HMA) , as well as to assess the significance of WT1 mRNA levels and its dynamic changes in evaluating the efficacy of HMA and distinguishing the disease status of heterogeneous patients with stable disease (SD) . Methods: Bone marrow or peripheral blood samples of 56 patients with MDS who underwent hypomethylating agents (≥4 cycles) from November 2009 to March 2018 were tested by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the expression of WT1 mRNA, and to observe the correlation between the dynamic changes of WT1 mRNA expression and clinical efficacy and prognosis of patients. Results: WT1 mRNA expression levels of MDS patients decreased significantly after 3 cycles of hypomethylating agent treatment. Besides, the WT1 mRNA expression levels of patients increased significantly after diseases progression. According to the dynamic changes of WT1 mRNA expression levels during SD, 45 cases could be further divided into increased group and non-increased group. In those SD patients with increased WT1 mRNA expression level, the ratio of suffering disease progression or transformation to AML was 95.65% (22/23) , whereas the ratio turned to be 9.09% (2/22) for the non-increased group (χ(2)=33.852, P<0.001) . Compared with those SD patients reporting no increase in WT1 mRNA expression level, the overall survival[17 (95%CI 11-23) months vs not reached, P<0.001] and progression-free survival [13 (95%CI 8-18) months vs not reached, P<0.001] of those SD patients reporting increase in WT1 mRNA expression level were significantly shorter. Conclusion: WT1 mRNA expression level is a useful indicator to assess the efficacy of hypomethylating agents in MDS patients. Especially in patients with SD, detection of the changes in WT1 mRNA expression level is able to predict disease progression and help to make clinical decision.

Effects of the Mineral Oil Covered M2 Droplet Culture, M16 Droplet Culture, and DMSO on Release of Mouse Oocytes from Diplotene Arrest / 中国医科大学学报

Objective To study the effects of mineral oil covered M2 culture medium droplet culture, M16 droplet culture, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the morphology and survival rates of mouse oocytes during the release from diplotene arrest. Methods Oocytes were randomly divided into 3 groups and individually cultured for 4 h in M2 covered with mineral oil, M16 covered with mineral oil, and/or M16 only to cause germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). The morphological changes and survival rates of oocytes in each group were observed under the microscope. Oocytes were randomly divided into 3 groups and cultured in the medium with 0％, 1％, and 2％ DMSO. The effect of DMSO on oocytes was also observed during the release from diplotene arrest. Results The survival rates of oocytes in M2 covered with mineral oil were higher than those in M16 (P ＜ 0.05). There was no statistical difference with respect to release of mouse oocytes from diplotene arrest between the oocytes in M2 covered with mineral oil and oocytes in M16. The shape of oocytes in M2 with mineral oil was better than that of oocytes in M16. The effect of DMSO on the survival rate of oocytes was similar in the medium with 0％, 1％ and 2％DMSO. But the effect of 2％ DMSO on the release of oocytes was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.01). Conclusion During the release of mouse oocytes from diplotene arrest, oocytes in M2 covered with mineral oil have much better morphology and higher survival rate than those in M16. DMSO (0％, 1％ and 2％) has no effect on the survival rate of oocytes. However, 2％ DMSO is more effective in promoting the release of mouse oocytes from diplotene arrest.

Comparisons of aortic anatomy between aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation / 中国介入心脏病学杂志

Objective To compare aortic root anatomical characteristics between severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) and aortic regurgitation (AR) patients, and to provide useful information for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) device designs and procedural techniques for treatment of AR. Methods Consecutive patients admitted between April 2014 to May 2016 with severe AS or AR and planned to undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement were included. There were a total of 57 AR and 113 AS patients. All patients underwent multi-detector computed tomographic imaging and echocardiography examinations. Results The mean aortic annulus diameter in AR patients was slightly but significantly larger than AS patients[ (26.4±3.7) mm vs. (25.2±2.9) mm, P=0.001]. The mean diameters of the ascending aorta[ (38.3±6.9) mm vs. (33.9±6.7) mm, P<0.001]and Valsalva sinus[ (38.9±6.9) mm vs. (32.7±4.5) mm, P<0.001] in AR patients were larger than in AS patients. The left coronary ostia height was of no significant difference between the 2 groups [ (12.5±3.7) mm vs. (13.4±3.2) mm, P=0.08] and the right coronary ostia height was higher in the AR group than in the AS group [ (17.5±5.0) mm vs. (15.3±3.3) mm, P=0.001]. Conclusions The anatomical aortic root data from patients with AS or AR in the present study may provide useful information for transcatheter aortic valve replacement device designs and procedural techniques for treatment of AR.

Genetic diversity of 6 species in Polygonatum by SSR marker / 中国中药杂志

Polygonatum is a genus of the perennial herb family Liliaceae, with great potential in food, medicine and other field. In this study, genetic diversity and cluster structure analysis of 6 species in Polygonatum were investigated the molecular marker technique of simple sequence repeat (SSR). A total of 49 SSR makers were used to study genetic diversity and population structure within 60 germplasm resources which obtained from 38 counties and cities in 14 provinces of China. A total of 211 alleles were identified and the number of alleles ranged from 2 to 10, with an average of 4.306 1 alleles per SSR. The range of polymorphism information content (PIC) varied from 0.731 8 to 0.031 7, with the average of 0.309 6. The cluster analysis classified 60 germplasm resources into four defined groups at the genetic distance value of 0.26, among which most species with relatives were clustered into the same group. Extraordinarily, there were 6 germplasm resources clustered into other species, indicating that the classification of inter-genus and geographical distribution was crossed in Polygonatum. The genetic diversity index of the 4 geographical populations from high to low was: Western region, Central China, Southern China, Eastern China. The population structure analysis, also indicating divided the entire collection into four groups, which was similar to the assignment pattern of cluster structure analysis. These results suggested that the Polygonatum germplasm resources used in this study is rich in relatively high genetic diversity with large variation range, relatively fuzzy boundaries of species. It appeared the phenomenon that there is a difference decreases between the alternate leaf system and the rotation leaf system. The genetic diversity in the western region was higher than that in other regions, and the western region may be the origin center of the genus Polygonatum.

Identification and Characterization of Alternaria iridiaustralis Causing Leaf Spot on Iris ensata in China

In 2016, a severe leaf spot disease was found on Iris ensata Thumb. in Nanjing, China. The symptom was elliptical, fusiform, or irregularly necrotic lesion surrounded by a yellow halo, from which a small-spored Alternaria species was isolated. The fungus was identified as Alternaria iridiaustralis based on morphological characteristics. The pathogenicity tests revealed that the fungus was the causal pathogen of the disease. Phylogenic analyses using sequences of ITS, gpd, endoPG, and RPB2 genes confirmed the morphological identification. This study is the first report of A. iridiaustralis causing leaf spots on I. ensata in China.