Molecular and physiological mechanisms of tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) leaf and root in response to nitrogen deficiency.

BACKGROUND: As an economically important crop, tea is strongly nitrogen (N)-dependent. However, the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying the response of N deficiency in tea are not fully understood. Tea cultivar "Chunlv2" [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] were cultured with a nutrient solution with 0 mM [N-deficiency] or 3 mM (Control) NH4NO3 in 6 L pottery pots containing clean river sands. RESULTS: N deficiency significantly decreased N content, dry weight, chlorophyll (Chl) content, L-theanine and the activities of N metabolism-related enzymes, but increased the content of total flavonoids and polyphenols in tea leaves. N deficiency delayed the sprouting time of tea buds. By using the RNA-seq technique and subsequent bioinformatics analysis, 3050 up-regulated and 2688 down-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were isolated in tea leaves in response to N deficiency. However, only 1025 genes were up-regulated and 744 down-regulated in roots. Gene ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis showed that 205 DEGs in tea leaves were enriched in seven GO terms and 152 DEGs in tea roots were enriched in 11 GO items based on P < 0.05. In tea leaves, most GO-enriched DEGs were involved in chlorophyll a/b binding activities, photosynthetic performance, and transport activities. But most of the DEGs in tea roots were involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates and plant hormones with regard to the GO terms of biological processes. N deficiency significantly increased the expression level of phosphate transporter genes, which indicated that N deficiency might impair phosphorus metabolism in tea leaves. Furthermore, some DEGs, such as probable anion transporter 3 and high-affinity nitrate transporter 2.7, might be of great potential in improving the tolerance of N deficiency in tea plants and further study could work on this area in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated N deficiency inhibited the growth of tea plant, which might be due to altered N metabolism and expression levels of DEGs involved in the photosynthetic performance, transport activity and oxidation-reduction processes.

Research progress in the intervention of Chinese herb monomers on diabetic retinal neurodegeneration / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

Diabetic retinopathy(DR)has been traditionally considered a purely microvascular disease in the retina. Currently, mainstream therapies focus only on advanced vascular complications and a single molecular target-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF). However, the research is shifting towards a more comprehensive view that DR is a neurovascular disease caused by neurovascular unit(NVU)injury. In the early stage of DR, diabetic retinal neurodegeneration(DRN)dominates and may precede the retinal microvascular abnormalities. Moreover, neuronal apoptosis can further lead to microvascular injury and blood-retinal barrier(BRB)disruption. Therefore, it makes sense to develop new therapeutic strategies to prevent or reverse DRN. However, no drug targeting DRN has been approved for clinical use. In recent years, it has become a trend to study the protective effect of traditional Chinese medicine on the retina. The primary research focuses on Chinese herb monomers. This article reviews the research status of representative monomers in DRN to provide references for the early treatment of DR and development of new drugs.

Association between cognitive impairment and main metals among oldest old aged 80 years and over in China / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective: To identify the main metals involved in cognitive impairment in the Chinese oldest old, and explore the association between these metal exposures and cognitive impairment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1 568 participants aged 80 years and older from Healthy Aging and Biomarkers Cohort Study (2017 to 2018). Fasting venous blood was collected to measure the levels of nine metals (selenium, lead, cadmium, arsenic, antimony, chromium, manganese, mercury, and nickel). The cognitive function of these participants was evaluated by using the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE). The random forest (RF) was applied to independently identify the main metals that affected cognitive impairment. The multivariate logistic regression model and restricted cubic splines (RCS) model were used to further verify the association of the main metals with cognitive impairment. Results: The age of 1 568 study subjects was (91.8±7.6) years old, including 912 females (58.2%) and 465 individuals (29.7%) with cognitive function impairment. Based on the RF model (the out-of-bag error rate was 22.9%), the importance ranking of variables was conducted and the feature screening of five times ten-fold cross-validation was carried out. It was found that selenium was the metal that affected cognitive function impairment, and the other eight metals were not included in the model. After adjusting for covariates, the multivariate logistic regression model showed that with every increase of 10 μg/L of blood selenium levels, the risk of cognitive impairment decreased (OR=0.921, 95%CI: 0.889-0.954). Compared with the lowest quartile(Q1) of blood selenium, the ORs (95%CI) of Q3 and Q4 blood selenium were 0.452 (0.304-0.669) and 0.419 (0.281-0.622) respectively. The RCS showed a linear dose-response relationship between blood selenium and cognitive impairment (Pnonlinear>0.05). Conclusion: Blood selenium is negatively associated with cognitive impairment in the Chinese oldest old.

Simultaneous determination of eleven volatile components in Cinnamomi Oleum by GC-MS / 中国中药杂志

A gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(GC-MS) method was established for the simultaneous determination of eleven volatile components in Cinnamomi Oleum and the chemical pattern recognition was utilized to evaluate the quality of essential oil obtained from Cinnamomi Fructus medicinal materials in various habitats. The Cinnamomi Fructus medicinal materials were treated by water distillation, analyzed using GC-MS, and detected by selective ion monitoring(SIM), and the internal standards were used for quantification. The content results of Cinnamomi Oleum from various batches were analyzed by hierarchical clustering analysis(HCA), principal component analysis(PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) for the statistic analysis. Eleven components showed good linear relationships within their respective concentration ranges(R~2>0.999 7), with average recoveries of 92.41%-102.1% and RSD of 1.2%-3.2%(n=6). The samples were classified into three categories by HCA and PCA, and 2-nonanone was screened as a marker of variability between batches in combination with OPLS-DA. This method is specific, sensitive, simple, and accurate, and the screened components can be utilized as a basis for the quality control of Cinnamomi Oleum.

Improvement of postoperative quality of life in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: does tea consumption have a role?

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effect of tea consumption on the improvement of postoperative quality of life in male patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: The quality of life information of 290 male patients with ESCC was collected. The time to deterioration and the number of events in each area of quality of life was calculated by time-to-deterioration (TTD) model. The association between postoperative tea drinking and postoperative quality of life in male ESCC patients was investigated using the Cox proportional risk model. RESULTS: Postoperative tea-drinking patients experienced delayed TTD in multiple domains, including general health, physical, role, emotional, and cognitive function, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, dyspnea, loss of appetite, constipation, diarrhea, eating problems, difficulty swallowing, choking while swallowing saliva, dry mouth, taste difficulties, coughing, and speech problems. The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that drinking tea after surgery improved quality of life, including physical function (HR = 0.722, 95% CI: 0.559-0.933), role function (HR = 0.740, 95% CI: 0.557-0.983), eating problems (HR = 0.718, 95% CI: 0.537-0.960), odynophagia (HR = 0.682, 95% CI: 0.492-0.945), trouble swallowing saliva (HR = 0.624, 95% CI: 0.444-0.877), coughing (HR = 0.627, 95% CI: 0.442-0.889) and speech problems (HR = 0.631, 95% CI: 0.441-0.903). Furthermore, the improvement was more significant in patients who drank tea before surgery and continued to drink tea after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative tea drinking had a positive effect on delay in clinical deterioration and improvements in multiple functions and symptoms associated with ESCC in men.

Liquiritin Attenuates Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy by Activating the PKA/LKB1/AMPK Pathway.

Background: Liquiritin (LQ) is one of the main flavonoids extracted from the roots of Glycyrrhiza spp., which are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Studies in both cellular and animal disease models have shown that LQ attenuates or prevents oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. However, the potential therapeutic effects of LQ on pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy have not been so far explored. Therefore, we investigated the cardioprotective role of LQ and its underlying mechanisms in the aortic banding (AB)-induced cardiac hypertrophy mouse model. Methods and Results: Starting 3 days after AB surgery, LQ (80 mg/kg/day) was administered daily over 4 weeks. Echocardiography and pressure-volume loop analysis indicated that LQ treatment markedly improved hypertrophy-related cardiac dysfunction. Moreover, hematoxylin and eosin, picrosirius red, and TUNEL staining showed that LQ significantly inhibited cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, interstitial fibrosis, and apoptosis. Western blot assays further showed that LQ activated LKB1/AMPKα2/ACC signaling and inhibited mTORC1 phosphorylation in cardiomyocytes. Notably, LQ treatment failed to prevent cardiac dysfunction, hypertrophy, and fibrosis in AMPKα2 knockout (AMPKα2-/-) mice. However, LQ still induced LKB1 phosphorylation in AMPKα2-/- mouse hearts. In vitro experiments further demonstrated that LQ inhibited Ang II-induced hypertrophy in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) by increasing cAMP levels and PKA activity. Supporting the central involvement of the cAMP/PKA/LKB1/AMPKα2 signaling pathway in the cardioprotective effects of LQ, inhibition of Ang II-induced hypertrophy and induction of LKB1 and AMPKα phosphorylation were no longer observed after inhibiting PKA activity. Conclusion: This study revealed that LQ alleviates pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and inhibits Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro via activating cAMP/PKA/LKB1/AMPKα2 signaling. These findings suggest that LQ might be a valuable adjunct to therapeutic approaches for treating pathological cardiac remodeling.

Dietary fatty acid patterns and risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: To characterize and examine the associations between dietary fatty acid intake patterns and the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: A total of 422 patients and 423 controls were recruited. Dietary fatty acids were entered into a factor analysis. Multivariable logistic regression and restricted cubic spline were used to evaluate the risk of ESCC specific for different dietary fatty acid patterns (FAPs). A forest plot was applied to show the association between FAPs and ESCC risk after stratification by lifestyle exposure factors (tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, pickled food, fried food, hot food, hard food). Results: The factor analysis generated four major fatty acid patterns: a medium- and long-chain SFA (MLC-SFA) pattern; an even-chain unsaturated fatty acid (EC-UFA) pattern, a saturated fatty acid (SFA) pattern and an n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LC-PUFA) pattern. In the multivariate-adjusted model, the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of ESCC were 2.07 (1.31, 3.26) and 0.53 (0.34, 0.81) for the highest versus the lowest tertiles of the EC-UFA pattern and n-3 LC-PUFA pattern, respectively. The MLC-SFA and SFA patterns were not associated with ESCC. An association between FAPs and ESCC risk after stratification by lifestyle exposure factors was also observed. Conclusions: Our study indicates that the EC-UFA pattern and n-3 LC-PUFA pattern intake are associated with ESCC, providing a potential dietary intervention for ESCC prevention.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on motor function and gait in patients with post-stroke spasticity in lower limbs].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect on motor function, spasticity degree, muscle strength and the relevant parameters of three-dimensional gait analysis in the patients with post-stroke spasticity in the lower limbs treated with the combined therapy of electroacupuncture (EA) and muscle electricity biofeedback or the simple muscle electricity biofeedback therapy on the base of rehabilitation medicine. METHODS: A total of 60 patients with post-stroke spasticity in the lower limbs were randomized into an EA + biofeedback group, a biofeedback group and a rehabilitation group, 20 cases in each one. In the rehabilitation group, the basic rehabilitation training was provided, 45 min each time. In the biofeedback group, on the base of the treatment as the rehabilitation group, the biofeedback therapy was added, 30 min each time. In the EA + biofeedback group, besides the treatment as the biofeedback group, acupuncture was supplemented at Futu (ST 32), Liangqiu (ST 34), Zusanli (ST 36) and Fenglong (ST 40), etc, and EA was applid at Zusanli (ST 36) and Taichong (LR 3) with continuous wave and 5 Hz in frequency. In each group, the treatment was given once daily, 5 times a week, for 6 weeks totally. Separately, before and after treatment, the score of Fugle-Meyer assessment (FMA), the score of clinical spasticity index (CSI) in the lower limbs and the strength of the anterior tibial muscle on the affected side were assessed, and the spatial-temporal parameters (step frequency and steep speed) in the three-dimensional gait analysis and the kinematic parameters (maximum dorsal flexion and maximum plantar flexion of ankle joint on the affected side) were measured in the patients of three groups. RESULTS: After treatment, FMA score was increased as compared with that before treatment in all of three groups (P<0.05). FMA score in the EA + biofeedback group and the biofeedback group was higher than the rehabilitation group respectively (P<0.05). CSI score in the EA + biofeedback group and the biofeedback group was lower than that before treatment respectively (P<0.05), and lower than the rehabilitation group (P<0.05). After treatment, the step frequency and speed were all improved and the angles of maximum dorsal flexion and maximum plantar flexion of ankle joint on the affected side were all increased as compared with those before treatment in the patients of three groups separately (P<0.05). The step frequency and speed, as well as the angles of maximum dorsal flexion and maximum plantar flexion of ankle joint on the affected side in either the EA + biofeedback group or the biofeedback group were all higher than the rehabilitation group (P<0.05), and the step speed in the EA + biofeedback group was higher than the biofeedback group (P<0.05). After treatment, the strength of the anterior tibial muscle on the affected side was increased as compared with that before treatment in the patients of each group (P<0.05); and the strength of the anterior tibial muscle in the EA + biofeedback group and the biofeedback group was larger than the rehabilitation group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: On the base of rehabilitation treatment, the combined regimen of EA and muscle electricity biofeedback therapy and the simple muscle electricity biofeedback therapy all effectively strengthen the motor functions and reduce spasticity as well as improve step frequency, step speed and the range of motion of ankle joint in the patients with post-stroke spasticity in the lower limbs. Regarding the gait improvement, the combined regimen of EA and muscle electricity biofeedback is better than the simple muscle electricity biofeedback.

Association of blood lead and blood selenium with serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein among Chinese adults aged 19 to 79 years / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the association of blood lead and blood selenium with serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) among Chinese adults aged 19 to 79 years. Methods: The participants were enrolled from the first wave of China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) conducted from 2017 to 2018. 10 153 participants aged 19 to 79 years were included in this study. Fasting blood samples were obtained from participants. Lead and selenium in whole blood and hs-CRP in serum were measured. Individuals with hs-CRP levels above 3.0 mg/L were defined as elevated hs-CRP. Generalized linear mixed models and restricted cubic spline models were used to analyze the association of blood lead and blood selenium with elevated hs-CRP. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the multiplicative scale and additive scale interaction between blood lead and blood selenium on elevated hs-CRP. Results: The age of participants was (48.91±15.38) years, of which 5 054 (61.47%) were male. 1 181 (11.29%) participants were defined as elevated hs-CRP. After multivariable adjustment, results from generalized linear models showed that compared with participants with the lowest quartile of blood lead, the OR (95%CI) of elevated hs-CRP for participants with the second, third, and highest quartiles were 1.14 (0.94-1.37), 1.25 (1.04-1.52) and 1.38 (1.13-1.68), respectively. When compared with participants with the lowest quartile of blood selenium, the OR (95%CI) of elevated hs-CRP for participants with the second, third and highest quartiles were 0.86 (0.72-1.04), 0.91 (0.76-1.11), and 0.75 (0.61-0.92), respectively. Results from the interaction analysis showed no significant interaction between lead and selenium on elevated hs-CRP. Conclusion: Blood concentration of lead was positively associated with elevated serum hs-CRP, and blood concentration of selenium was inversely related to elevated hs-CRP, while blood lead and selenium did not present interaction on elevated hs-CRP.

Spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the late frost damage risk to shrubby tea trees in tea region, southwest China from 1971 to 2020.

Understanding the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the risk of late frost damage has scientific guiding significance for optimizing the regional agricultural production layout and varie-ty tuning. Based on the daily meteorological data of 65 weather stations in the southwest China tea region from 1971 to 2020, we analyzed variation characteristics of the last frost date (LFD), tea bud open date (BOD), and their relationships, constructed frost damage probability index and frost damage severity index of spring shoots of shrubby tea trees, and analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution chara-cteristics of the late frost damage risk of shrub tea trees in the southwest tea region. The results showed that both the BOD and LFD had a significant ahead of trend from 1971 to 2020 and the early rate of the LFD was relatively faster than that of the BOD in the southwest tea region. The number of days that the tea buds were exposed to late frost damage after germination showed an non-significant declining trend. The risk of late frost damage of shrubby tea trees in most parts of the southwest tea region showed a declining trend, but Guizhou tea planting region showed an insignificant increasing trend. The risk of late frost damage to shrubby tea trees was high in the western marginal mountai-nous areas of Sichuan tea region, and the junction of Guizhou and Yunnan tea region. The risk of late frost damage was at low level in Sichuan Basin, southern Yunnan tea region, and southern Guizhou tea region. The risk of late frost damage to shrubby tea trees in the northern and central-eastern parts of Yunnan tea region showed an obvious decreasing trend, but increased significantly in the central and eastern parts of Guizhou tea region.

The GC-TOF/MS-based Metabolomic analysis reveals altered metabolic profiles in nitrogen-deficient leaves and roots of tea plants (Camellia sinensis).

BACKGROUND: Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is commonly considered as one of the most important limiting factors in the agricultural production. As a result, a large amount of N fertilizer is used to improve the yield in modern tea production. Unfortunately, the large amount of N fertilizer input has led to increased plant nitrogen-tolerance and decreased amplitude of yield improvement, which results in significant N loss, energy waste and environment pollution. However, the effects of N-deficiency on the metabolic profiles of tea leaves and roots are not well understood. RESULTS: In this study, seedlings of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze Chunlv 2 were treated with 3 mM NH4NO3 (Control) or without NH4NO3 (N-deficiency) for 4 months by sandy culture. The results suggested that N-deficiency induced tea leaf chlorosis, impaired biomass accumulation, decreased the leaf chlorophyll content and N absorption when they were compared to the Control samples. The untargeted metabolomics based on GC-TOF/MS approach revealed a discrimination of the metabolic profiles between N-deficient tea leaves and roots. The identification and classification of the altered metabolites indicated that N deficiency upregulated the relative abundances of most phenylpropanoids and organic acids, while downregulated the relative abundances of most amino acids in tea leaves. Differentially, N-deficiency induced the accumulation of most carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids in tea roots. The potential biomarkers screened in N-deficient leaves compared to Control implied that N deficiency might reduce the tea quality. Unlike the N-deficient leaves, the potential biomarkers in N-deficient roots indicated an improved stress response might occur in tea roots. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated N deficiency had different effects on the primary and secondary metabolism in tea leaves and roots. The findings of this study will facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the N-deficient tea plants and provide a valuable reference for the optimized N nutrient management and the sustainable development in the tea plantations.

New bisabolane-type phenolic sesquiterpenoids from the marine sponge Plakortis simplex.

Six new bisabolane-type phenolic sesquiterpenoids, including plakordiols A-D (1-4), (7R, 10R)-hydroxycurcudiol (5) and (7R, 10S)-hydroxycurcudiol (6) were isolated from the marine sponge Plakortis simplex collected from the South China Sea. Their structures were determined based on extensive analysis of spectroscopic data. Their configurations were assigned by coupling constant analysis, NOESY correlations, and the modified Mosher's method. Furthermore, their cytotoxic and antibacterial activities were evaluated.

Ligilactobacillus Salivarius LCK11 Prevents Obesity by Promoting PYY Secretion to Inhibit Appetite and Regulating Gut Microbiota in C57BL/6J Mice.

SCOPE: Obesity is a common disease worldwide and there is an urgent need for strategies to preventing obesity. METHODS AND RESULTS: The anti-obesity effect and mechanism of Ligilactobacillus salivarius LCK11 (LCK11) is studied using a C57BL/6J male mouse model in which obesity is induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). Results show that LCK11 can prevent HFD-induced obesity, reflected as inhibited body weight gain, abdominal and liver fat accumulation and dyslipidemia. Analysis of its mechanism shows that on the one hand, LCK11 can inhibit food intake through significantly improving the transcriptional and translational levels of peptide YY (PYY) in the rectum, in addition to the eventual serum PYY level; this is attributed to the activation of the toll-like receptor 2/nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway in enteroendocrine L cells by the peptidoglycan of LCK11. On the other hand, LCK11 supplementation effectively reduces the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and shifts the overall structure of the HFD-disrupted gut microbiota toward that of mice fed on a low-fat diet; this also contributes to preventing obesity. CONCLUSION: LCK11 shows the potential to be used as a novel probiotic for preventing obesity by both promoting PYY secretion to inhibit food intake and regulating gut microbiota.

Liquiritin Attenuates Lipopolysaccharides-Induced Cardiomyocyte Injury via an AMP-Activated Protein Kinase-Dependent Signaling Pathway.

Background: Liquiritin (LIQ) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been reported to regulate inflammation, oxidative stress and cell apoptosis. However, the beneficial effects of LIQ in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced septic cardiomyopathy (SCM) has not been reported. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the effects of LIQ in LPS-induced SCM model. Methods: Mice were pre-treated with LIQ for 7 days before they were injected with LPS (10 mg/kg) for inducing SCM model. Echocardiographic analysis was used to evaluate cardiac function after 12 h of LPS injection. Thereafter, mice were sacrificed to collect hearts for molecular and histopathologic assays by RT-PCR, western-blots, immunohistochemical and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining analysis respectively. AMPKα2 knockout (AMPKα2-/-) mice were used to elucidate the mechanism of LIQ Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) treated with or without LPS were used to further investigate the roles and mechanisms of LIQ in vitro experiments. Results: LIQ administration attenuated LPS-induced mouse cardiac dysfunction and reduced mortality, based upon the restoration of EF, FS, LVEDs, heart rate, dp/dt max and dp/dt min deteriorated by LPS treatment. LIQ treatment also reduced mRNA expression of TNFα, IL-6 and IL-1ß, inhibited inflammatory cell migration, suppressed cardiac oxidative stress and apoptosis, and improved metabolism. Mechanistically, LIQ enhanced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase α2 (AMPKα2) and decreased the phosphorylation of mTORC1, IκBα and NFκB/p65. Importantly, the beneficial roles of LIQ were not observed in AMPKα2 knockout model, nor were they observed in vitro model after inhibiting AMPK activity with an AMPK inhibitor. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that LIQ exerts its protective effects in an SCM model induced by LPS administration. LIQ reduced inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis and metabolic alterations via regulating AMPKα2 dependent signaling pathway. Thus, LIQ might be a potential treatment or adjuvant for SCM treatment.

Haemostatic indexes for predicting intestinal necrosis in children with intussusception.

BACKGROUND: To determine risk factors for intestinal necrosis in intussusception cases among children with failed non-surgical reduction for intussusception. METHODS: Totally, 540 hospitalized individuals with unsuccessful air-enema reduction in our hospital between November 2010 and November 2020 were assessed in this retrospective study. The 540 intussusception cases were divided into the intestinal necrosis and non-intestinal necrosis groups. Haemostatic parameters, demographic and clinical features were assessed. Predictors of intestinal necrosis were examined by univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Of the 540 patients included, 113 showed intestinal necrosis. This intestinal necrosis group had a longer duration of symptom or length of illness, younger ages, higher platelet counts, fibrinogen amounts and d-dimer levels (all P = 0.000) compared with the non-intestinal necrosis group. Multivariable analysis revealed that duration of symptom (odds ratio (OR) 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16-1.23, P = 0.000), fibrinogen (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.10-1.31, P = 0.010) and d-dimer (OR 2.07; 95% CI 1.91-2.28, P = 0.000) independently predicted intestinal necrosis in individuals undergoing surgical reduction for intussusception. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that d-dimer amounts had the largest area under the curve for predicting intestinal necrosis. CONCLUSION: On admission, long duration of symptom, high fibrinogen and d-dimer levels are critical risk factors for intestinal necrosis development in children with unsuccessful non-surgical reduction. d-Dimer levels have the best predictive value for intestinal necrosis.

A network pharmacology approach for investigating the multi-target mechanisms of Huangqi in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer globally. In the treatment of CRC, surgical resection is commonly adopted, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy or immunotherapy is mainly administered for patients with advanced disease. However, despite the developments in the field of cancer treatment, the mortality rate of CRC has remained high. Therefore, novel treatments for CRC need to be explored. Astragalus membranaceus, commonly known in China as Huangqi (HQ), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been reported to be a potential antitumorigenic agent. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of action of HQ. METHODS: Active ingredients and putative targets of HQ were obtained through a comprehensive search of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database. CRC-related targets were retrieved from the GeneCards database and then overlapping targets were acquired. After visualization of the compound-disease network and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of the overlapping genes were performed. Additionally, HCT116 cells were treated with the active components of HQ at a 20-µM concentration. Cell Counting Kit-8 was used to detect cell activity, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was carried out to detect the expression of genes downstream of the interleukin (IL)-17 signaling pathway. RESULTS: A PPI network comprising 177 nodes and 318 edges was obtained. The GO analysis of the overlapping genes showed enrichment in response to lipopolysaccharide and oxidative process. For the KEGG analysis, the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway and inflammation-related pathways, such as the IL-17 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathways, were enriched. The in vitro experiments showed that HQ promoted the apoptosis of CRC cells by inhibiting the expression of the CCL2, CXCL8, CXCL10, and PTGS2 genes. CONCLUSIONS: This study systematically revealed the multitarget mechanism of HQ in CRC through a network pharmacology approach. We verified that HQ promotes CRC cell death via the IL-17 signaling pathway. This finding provides indications for further mechanistic studies and the development of HQ as a potential treatment for CRC patients.

New dibenzoxocin derivatives from Caesalpinia decapetala / 中国中药杂志

The present study investigated the chemical constituents of Caesalpinia decapetala in the Fabaceae family. The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by chromatographies with silica gel, RP-C_(18), Sephadex LH-20, and preparative HPLC, and their structures were determined based on the spectroscopic data and physicochemical properties, as well as relevant references. Three pairs of new dibenzoxocin derivatives were isolated from 70% ethanol extract of C. decapetala and identified as protosappanoside A(1 a), isoprotosappanoside A(1 b), protosappanoside B(2 a), isoprotosappanoside B(2 b), protosappanoside C(3 a), and isoprotosappanoside C(3 b), respectively.

Diagnostic value of serum miRNA-145, miRNA-21 and miRNA-197 for non-small cell lung cancer / 肿瘤研究与临床

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of serum miRNA-145 (miR-145), miRNA-21 (miR-21) and miRNA-197 (miR-197) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:The clinical data of 65 NSCLC patients in Luzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Sichuan Province from January 2019 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, and 60 healthy physical examiners were selected as the healthy control group. The relative expressions of serum miR-145, miR-21 and miR-197 in all subjects were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and their relationship with clinicopathological features of NSCLC patients was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the efficacy of miR-145, miR-21 and miR-197 alone and in combination in the diagnosis of NSCLC.Results:The relative expression of miR-145 in the NSCLC group was lower than that in the healthy control group (1.05±0.40 vs. 1.38±0.44, t = -4.326, P < 0.01), and the relative expressions of miR-21 and miR-197 were higher than those in the control group (2.37±0.89 vs. 0.83±0.25, 4.42±0.75 vs. 1.10±0.33, both P < 0.01). In the NSCLC group, the relative expressions of miR-21 and miR-197 in patients with TNM stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ were higher than those in patients with TNM stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ (both P < 0.01), and the relative expression of miR-145 in patients with adenocarcinoma was higher than that in patients with squamous cell carcinoma ( P < 0.01), and the relative expression of miR-21 in patients with lymph node metastasis was higher than that in patients without lymph node metastasis ( P < 0.01). When miR-145, miR-21 and miR-197 were used alone to diagnose NSCLC, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.842 (95% CI 0.795-0.907), 0.868 (95% CI 0.812-0.938) and 0.857 (95% CI 0.801-0.913), and the best diagnostic cut-off values ??were 1.14, 2.03 and 2.98. When the best cut-off value was used for diagnosis, miR-145 alone was the most sensitive (83.76%), and miR-21 alone was the most specific (87.63%). The AUC for the combined detection of the three was 0.939 (95% CI 0.904-0.965), the diagnostic sensitivity was 91.58%, and the specificity was 79.86%. Conclusions:The relative expressions of miR-145, miR-21 and miR-197 are related to the pathological type, TNM staging and lymph node metastasis of NSCLC patients, and they may become markers for the auxiliary diagnosis of NSCLC. The combined detection of the three can improve the diagnostic efficiency and sensitivity.

Analysis of imaging-guided thermal ablation puncture routes for tumors of the hepatic caudate lobe.

AIMS: The goal of this study was to analyze the puncture routes of imaging-guided thermal ablation for tumors of the hepatic caudate lobe. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The imaging-guided thermal ablation puncture routes of 12 cases of hepatic caudate lobe tumors were collected in our hospital from January 2013 to February 2019. The puncture routes were retrospectively analyzed, and the experience of thermal ablation therapy for hepatic caudate lobe tumors was summarized. RESULTS: Among the 12 cases of hepatic caudate lobe tumors, puncture routes were divided into the anterior (through the left lobe of the liver) approach (six cases), the right hepatic approach (five cases), and the transthoracic approach (one case). Different ablation electrodes were selected according to the puncture route and method of guiding. No serious postoperative complications were noted. CONCLUSION: The hepatic caudate lobe is surrounded by the inferior vena cava, hepatic vein, and hepatic hilum, leading to great difficulties and risks in performing minimally invasive treatment of hepatic caudate lobe malignancies. Therefore, selecting an appropriate puncture route is an important factor in the success of the treatment.

Comparison of the effects of general and local anesthesia in lumbar interlaminar endoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) with an interlaminar approach is a technique used to treat lumbar disc hernia. It has not yet been established whether general or local anesthesia (LA) is preferable for lumbar interlaminar endoscopic surgery. METHODS: Between October, 2012 and June, 2016, 60 patients were recruited and randomly divided into 2 groups: the general anesthesia (GA) group and the LA group. The patients' basic clinical data, intraoperative patient experience, Oswestry disability index (ODI), visual analog scale (VAS) score, and the postoperative patient satisfaction rate were assessed. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in operative time and length of hospital stay. There were no significant differences in postoperative ODI or VAS scores between the two groups during follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. One patient in the GA group sustained a nerve root injury intraoperatively. Two patients in the LA group suffered adverse reactions, as did six patients in the GA group. However, 50% of the patients expressed fear about undergoing the surgery with LA, while all patients felt they could undergo the same surgery with GA. CONCLUSIONS: General and LA are both suitable for use in lumbar interlaminar endoscopic surgery. However, GA makes a positive intraoperative surgical experience more likely for the patient.