Changes in the transformation of nitrogen and phosphorus under different microbial communities in sewage pipes.

Microbial communities living in different environments can affect the transformation of nitrogen and phosphorus in sewage pipes. Two different environments were simulated to investigate the differences in the transformation of nitrogen and phosphorus under different microbial communities in the pipe. Results showed that the concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus changed greatly in the first 25-33 days and the first 21 days, respectively, and then remained stable. The decrease in amino acid nitrogen (AAN) concentration and the increase in ammonia nitrogen (NH4 + -N) concentration in the sediments were evident in the contrast group. The concentrations of total phosphorus (TP), dissolved total phosphorus (DTP), and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in the overlying water and interstitial water decreased, and that of TP in the sediment increased. Some microorganisms in the sediments of both groups are related to the transformation of nitrogen and phosphorus, such as Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Sporacetigenium, Norank_f__Anaerolineaceae, Norank_f__norank_o__PeM15, and Caldisericum. The relative abundance of these microorganisms was remarkably differed between the two groups, which partly caused the difference in nitrogen and phosphorus transformation among overlying water, interstitial water, and sediment in the two environments. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The concentration of N and P changed greatly in the first 20-30 days. AAN and NH4 + -N in sediments had greater concentration variation in contrast group. In two groups, TP, DTP, and DRP of water decreased, and TP of sediment increased. Microbe related to the transformation of N and P differed between the two groups.

Unraveling the serial glycosylation in the biosynthesis of steroidal saponins in the medicinal plant Paris polyphylla and their antifungal action.

Sugar-sugar glycosyltransferases play important roles in constructing complex and bioactive saponins. Here, we characterized a series of UDP-glycosyltransferases responsible for biosynthesizing the branched sugar chain of bioactive steroidal saponins from a widely known medicinal plant Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Among them, a 2'-O-rhamnosyltransferase and three 6'-O-glucosyltrasferases catalyzed a cascade of glycosylation to produce steroidal diglycosides and triglycosides, respectively. These UDP-glycosyltransferases showed astonishing substrate promiscuity, resulting in the generation of a panel of 24 terpenoid glycosides including 15 previously undescribed compounds. A mutant library containing 44 variants was constructed based on the identification of critical residues by molecular docking simulations and protein model alignments, and a mutant UGT91AH1Y187A with increased catalytic efficiency was obtained. The steroidal saponins exhibited remarkable antifungal activity against four widespread strains of human pathogenic fungi attributed to ergosterol-dependent damage of fungal cell membranes, and 2'-O-rhamnosylation appeared to correlate with strong antifungal effects. The findings elucidated the biosynthetic machinery for their production of steroidal saponins and revealed their potential as new antifungal agents.

Secondary metabolites from the Mongolian medicine Lomatogonium carinthiacum.

Systematic phytochemical investigation on the Mongolian medicinal herb Lomatogonium carinthiacum led to the isolation of 12 monoterpenoids including three new secoiridoids (1, 2 and 4) and one new iridoid glycoside (13), one new monoterpenoid alkaloid (3), and three new sesquiterpenoids (14-16). Comprehensive spectroscopic analysis (including 1D and 2D NMR, and HRESIMS) and quantum chemistry computations (including ECD and NMR calculations) were applied to elucidate their structures. Weak immunosuppressive activities were observed for the new isolates via inhibiting T cell proliferation and cytokine IFN-γ secretion in vitro.

Transformation trend of nitrogen and phosphorus in the sediment of the sewage pipeline and their distribution along the pipeline.

Microorganisms transform nitrogen and phosphorus in the sediment of sewage pipelines. When the sediment was scoured by water flow, these elements migrate. This work studied the changes in biofilm morphology and microbial community structure, and focused on the differences in the transformation of nitrogen and phosphorus along the pipeline. The results showed that the nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations varied systematically with time and space (the front, middle, and posterior segments of the pipe). With time, amino acid nitrogen (AAN) concentration in the sediment gradually decreased, NH4+-N concentration slowly increased, NO3--N concentration began to increase after 25 days, and TP concentration continued to increase after 9 days. The AAN, NH4+-N, and TP concentrations were highest in the posterior segment of the pipe and lowest in the front segment. However, NO3--N showed two stages: its concentration was highest in the front segment and lowest in the posterior segment during the first 17 days, after which the opposite was observed. Changes in the nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were related to the microbial communities in the sediments. The abundances of Rhodobacter (0.001

Machine learning based on automated breast volume scanner radiomics for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant BI-RADS 4 lesions / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the performance of machine learning (ML) based on automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) radiomics in distinguishing benign and malignant BI-RADS 4 lesions.Methods:Between May to December 2020, patients with BI-RADS 4 lesions from the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University (Center 1) and Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Center 2) were prospectively collected and divided into training cohort (Center 1) and external validation cohort (Center 2). The radiomics features of BI-RADS 4 lesions were extracted from the axial, sagittal and coronal ABVS images by MaZda software. In the training cohort, 7 feature selection methods and thirteen ML algorithms were combined in pairs to construct different ML models, and the 6 models with the best performance were verified in the external validation cohort to determine the final ML model. Finally, the diagnostic performance and confidence (5-point scale) of radiologists (R1, R2 and R3, with 3, 6 and 10 years of experience, respectively) with or without the model were evaluated.Results:①A total of 251 BI-RADS 4 lesions were enrolled, including 178 lesions (91 benign, 87 malignant) in the training cohort and 73 lesions (44 benign, 29 malignant) in the external validation cases. ②In the training cohort, the 6 ML models (DNN-RFE, AdaBoost-RFE, LR-RFE, LDA-RFE, Bagging-RFE and SVM-RFE) had the best diagnostic performance, and their AUCs were 0.972, 0.969, 0.968, 0.968, 0.967 and 0.962, respectively. ③In the external validation cohort, the DNN-RFE still had the best performance with the AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 0.886, 0.836, 0.934, 0.776, 86.8% and 82.5%, respectively. ④Before model assistance, R1 had the worst diagnostic performance with the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 0.680, 0.750, 0.640, 57% and 81%, respectively. After model assistance, the diagnostic performance of R1 was significantly improved ( P=0.039), and its diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV improved to 0.730, 0.810, 0.930, 68% and 94%; while the improvement of R2 and R3 were not significantly ( P=0.811, 0.752). Meanwhile, the overall diagnostic confidence of the 3 radiologists increased from 2.8 to 3.3 ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The performance of ML based on ABVS radiomics in distinguishing between benign and malignant BI-RADS 4 lesions is good, which may improve the diagnostic performance of inexperienced radiologists and enhance diagnostic confidence.

Survival of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with Fuzheng Gushe Therapy： A Real World Study / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo analyze the long-term survival of non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC） patients treated with Fuzheng Gushe therapy in the real world. MethodA retrospective cohort study was carried out with the NSCLC patients treated with Fuzheng Gushe therapy from January 2014 to December 2018 in Dongzhimen Hospital， Beijing University of Chinese Medicine as the integrated traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and western medicine cohort. The NSCLC data from January 2011 to December 2015 in the Surveillance， Epidemiology， and End Results （SEER） database were downloaded as the western medicine cohort. The propensity score matching （PSM） was employed to balance the confounding factors between the groups， and comparable samples were obtained from the two groups. The Log-rank test was conducted to compare the overall survival between the groups and the survival curves were established. ResultThe integrated TCM and western medicine cohort and the western medicine cohort included 511 and 5 022 NSCLC patients， respectively. The age， sex， and chemotherapy had no significant differences between the two cohorts， while pathological type， lymph node metastasis （N）， distant metastasis （M）， surgery， and radiotherapy were different between the two cohorts （P<0.05）. After PSM， 122 comparable samples were obtained. The overall survival analysis showed that the total survival of the integrated TCM and western medicine cohort was better than that of the western medicine cohort （P<0.05）. The stratified survival analysis showed that the integrated TCM and western medicine cohort had survival advantages in females， males， the young， and adenocarcinoma， N+， and M+ patients （P<0.05）. ConclusionFuzheng Gushe therapy can significantly improve the overall survival of NSCLC patients， especially in the females， the males， the young， and the patients with adenocarcinoma， lymph node metastasis， and distant metastasis.

Clinical observation of contralateral needling combined with Maitland ankle mobilization for chronic ankle sprain / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To observe the efficacy of contralateral needling combined with Maitland ankle mobilization in the treatment of chronic ankle sprain.Methods: A total of 106 patients with chronic ankle sprain were included in the study. They were numbered according to their order of visit, with odd numbers assigned to the control group and even numbers assigned to the observation group, with 53 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with Maitland ankle mobilization, while those in the observation group were given additional contralateral needling treatment. After treatment, we observed the indicators including, ankle circumference, range of motion (ROM) of dorsiflexion, ROM of plantar flexion, thickness of ankle ligaments, and the changes in Baird-Jackson ankle score, American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score, and visual analog scale (VAS) score to compare the efficacy between the two groups. Results: After treatment, the total effective rate of the observation group was 94.3％ and was significantly higher than that of the control group (81.1％), indicating statistical significance (P<0.05). After treatment, the ankle circumference of both groups decreased, and the ROM of dorsiflexion and the ROM of plantar flexion increased (P<0.05). The changes in the observation group were more significant, indicating inter-group statistical significance (P<0.05). After treatment, the thickness of the anterior talofibular ligament, calcaneofibular ligament, and posterior talofibular ligament, as well as the VAS scores decreased in both groups; the changes in the observation group were more significant, indicating inter-group statistical significance (P<0.05). After treatment, the Baird-Jackson ankle score and the AOFAS ankle- hindfoot score increased in both groups, and the scores in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, indicating inter-group statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusion: The efficacy of contralateral needling combined with Maitland ankle mobilization in the treatment of chronic ankle sprain is superior to that of Maitland ankle mobilization alone.

Mechanistic study of the solid-liquid extraction of phenolics from walnut pellicle fibers enhanced by ultrasound, microwave and mechanical agitation forces.

The molecular diffusion of phenolics inside walnut pellicle fiber particles under solid-liquid extraction enhanced by ultrasound (US), orbital agitation (OA), impeller agitation (IA), and the combined microwave and impeller agitation (MW-IA) were explored. Numerical modeling considering the temperature-dependent diffusivity revealed that the internal diffusivity of phenolics was the highest under MW-IA and the lowest under OA. At 35 °C, IA (126.246 mg/g, t = 10 min) was more effective to strengthen the phenolic diffusivity than the US-39W (95.538 mg/g, t = 10 min). Due to the simultaneous enhancement of internal diffusivity and external dissolution, the MW-IA extraction reached equilibrium within 16 min, reaching the highest yield among all the treatments (176.944 mg/g). The extraction was then divided into the increasing and falling driving force periods. The comparison of phenolic diffusivity among MW-IA and IA roughly indicated that the proportion of non-thermal effect of microwave at 315 W was 889% higher than 189 W at the extraction equilibrium. Moreover, some soluble polyphenols, i.e. quercitrin and syringic acid, could be adsorbed by the cell wall after equilibrium. The correlations between any two soluble phenolics varied with the phenolic type, deducing that soluble phenolics may interact with each other either positively or negatively. Besides, the mining of phenolic data also indicated that intensive impeller agitation is a good substitution for ultrasonication to extract phenolics effectively.

Targeting p65 to inhibit Cas3 transcription by Onjisaponin B for radiation damage therapy in p65+/- mice.

BACKGROUND: In response to radiation injury, p65 becomes activated. The formation of p65 is one target of Onjisaponin B (OB), but it has not been studied in radioprotection. In addition, there is a binding site for p65 in the promoter region of Cas3. This study evaluates the use of OB as an intervention to modulate p65/Cas3 following radiation exposure. PURPOSE: This study aimed to confirm that OB regulated the transcription of Cas3 via p65 to overcome radiation-induced damage. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Cells and mice were exposed to X-rays at a dose of 6 Gy. Immunofluorescence was used to locate intracellular p65. For the protein and mRNA analyses, Western blotting and RT-qPCR-based assays were conducted accordingly. HE staining was used to observe pathological changes in tissues. DNA damage was detected by the comet assay and DNA ladder assay. Next, apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and Hoechst staining. RESULTS: Compared with the radiation group, the expression levels of p-p65 and c-Cas3 in the drug group were significantly down-regulated by OB 20 µg/ml. When the expression of p65 was suppressed in V79 and TC cells, OB did not significantly inhibit the activation of p65 or Cas3 in response to irradiation, nor did it significantly inhibit the phosphorylation of p65 and subsequent nuclear translocation. Overexpression of p65 in V79 and MTEC-1 cells resulted in OB significantly inhibiting the activation of p65 and Cas3, and the phosphorylation and translocation of p65 into the nucleus. At 3 d for V79 cells and 24 h for MTEC-1 cells after radiation, compared with the Cas3 over plasmid transfection group, the drug transfection group had no significant effect on reducing apoptosis. In p65+/- mice, expression of the p65 gene was knocked down, leading to increased tissue apoptosis and inflammation, and serious tissue pathological changes. The inhibition of p65 activation by OB after radiation exposure was not apparent in the thymus, although it was observed in the lung. CONCLUSIONS: OB interfered with radiation injury by targeting and regulating p65/Cas3. Therefore, it has been concluded that p65 is an important target molecule for the treatment of radiation injury.

Mining intrinsic information of convalescent patients after suffering coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the potential characteristics of convalescent patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China based on emerging clinical tongue data and guide the treatment and recovery of COVID-19 patients from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine tongue diagnosis. METHODS: In this study, we developed and validated radiomics-based and lab-based methods as a novel approach to provide individualized pretreatment evaluation by analyzing different features to mine the orderliness behind tongue data of convalescent patients. In addition, this study analyzed the tongue features of convalescent patients from clinical tongue qualitative values, including thick and thin, fur, peeling, fat and lean, tooth marks and cracked, and greasy and putrid fur. RESULTS: We included 2164 tongue images in total (34% from day 0, 35.4% from day 14 and 30.6% from day 28) from convalescent patients. The significance results are shown as follows. Firstly, as the recovery time prolongs, the L average values of tongue and coat decrease from 60.21 to 57.18 and from 60.06 to 57.03 respectively. Secondly, the decrease of abnormality rate of tongue coat, included greasy tongue fur, putrid fur, teeth-mark, thick-thin fur, are of significant statistical difference ( < 0.05). Thirdly, the average value of gray-level co-occurrence matrices increases from 0.173 to 0.194, the average value of entropy increases from 0.606 to 0.665, the average value of inverse difference normalized decrease from 0.981 to 0.979, and the average value of dissimilarity decrease from 0.1576 to 0.1828. The details of other radiomics features are describe in results section. CONCLUSIONS: Our experiment shows that patients in different recovery periods have a relationship with quantitative values of tongue images, including L color space of the tongue and coat radiomics features analysis. This relationship can help clinical doctors master the recovery and health of patients as soon as possible and improve their understanding of the potential mechanisms underlying the dynamic changes and mechanisms underlying COVID-19.

PEST analysis and countermeasure research on the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Lancang Mekong area / 国际中医中药杂志

This paper uses PEST analysis method to analyze the macro environment of the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the Lancang-Mekong area. China has stable political relations with the other five countries in the Lancang-Mekong area, and governments attach great importance to TCM. TCM can reduce the economic burden of patients in the Mekong countries, and the five countries have extensive market. The Mekong countries recognize traditional medicine, and their local cultures and customs are similar to China. The medical level and pharmaceutical technology of TCM have advantages in the Mekong countries, and the registration standards of TCM and TCM practitioners are friendly. However, TCM also faces problems such as limited scale, insufficient service capacity, lack of policy guarantee and insufficient talents in the Mekong countries.Therefore, it is suggested to rely on intergovernmental cooperation to further tap the development potential of TCM in the Mekong countries; take advantage of overseas Chinese groups to promote the development of TCM; encourage enterprises to enter and expand the market of TCM; and actively cultivate international TCM talents.

Effect of acupuncture on learning and memory ability and hippocampal Ngb expression in rats with vascular cognitive impairment / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To discuss the effect of acupuncture on learning and memory ability and the expression of neuroglobin (Ngb) of the hippocampus of vascular cognitive impaired (VCI) rats.Methods:VCI rats model was established by repeated ligation of the carotid arteries of the two sides to induce ischemia-reperfusion injury. The successful modeled rats were divided into acupuncture group and a model group according to the random number table method, with 12 rats in each group, and 12 rats were selected as the normal group. The rats in the acupuncture group received acupuncture at "Baihui", "Fengfu" and "Yongquan", 10 times as a course of treatment, a total of 3 courses, and stop acupuncture treatment for 2 days during the courses of treatment. Neurobehavioral scores were measured on the 3rd day after the intervention. Morris water maze was conducted to detect the learning and memory ability of the rats in each group, and Western blot was used to detect the expression of Ngb in the hippocampus of the rats.Results:Compared with the model group, the behavioral score of the acupuncture group decreased after intervention ( P<0.05), the escape latency was significantly shortened ( P<0.05), the number of crossing platforms was increased ( P<0.05), and the hippocampal Ngb (1.18±0.06 vs.0.98±0.04) was significantly increased ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Acupuncture at "Baihui", "Fengfu" and "Yongquan" could promote the expression of Ngb in the hippocampus of rats and improve the learning and memory ability of VCI rats.

Effect of Salidroside on Proliferation， Migration， Invasion， and Apoptosis of HepG2 Cells / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveSalidroside is the most abundant natural active compound in the famous Chinese herbal medicine Rhodiolae Crenulatae Radix et Rhizoma. This study aims to explore the effect of salidroside on the proliferation， migration， invasion， and apoptosis of human hepatoma （HepG2） cells. MethodThe HepG2 cells without any treatment were selected as the blank group， and the HepG2 cells in the salidroside groups were treated with salidroside at final concentrations of 20， 40， 80 μmol·L-1， respectively. A multifunctional cell analyzer， scratch assay， and Transwell assay were employed to determine the proliferation， migration， and invasion of HepG2 cells， respectively. An inverted microscope was used to observe the morphology， and a transmission electron microscope to observe the mitochondria of HepG2 cells. Flow cytometry was employed to determine the apoptosis and cycle distribution of HepG2 cells. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( Real-time PCR ) and Western blot were employed to determine the expression of apoptosis-associated genes and migration-， invasion-， and apoptosis-associated proteins， respectively， in HepG2 cells. ResultCompared with the blank group， salidroside （20， 40， 80 μmol·L-1） decreased the cell index and increased the healing area in a time- and dose-dependent manner （P<0.05）. Compared with that in the blank group， the HepG2 cells that could pass through Matrigel reduced in the salidroside （20， 80 μmol·L-1） groups. Compared with the blank group， salidroside （20， 40， 80 μmol·L-1） increased the total apoptosis rate in a dose dependence manner and blocked the cells in the G2/M phase （P<0.05）. Compared with the blank group， salidroside up-regulated the expression of epithelial-cadherin （E-cadherin） in a dose-dependent manner （P<0.05） and down-regulated that of nerve-cadherin （N-cadherin） in the 20 and 80 μmol·L-1 groups （P<0.05）. Compared with the blank group， salidroside （20， 40， 80 μmol·L-1） up-regulated the mRNA level of cysteine-containing aspartate-specific protease -3 （Caspase-3） and the protein levels of B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2） associated X protein （Bax）， Caspase-3， and cysteine-containing aspartate-specific protease-9 （Caspase-9） in a dose-dependent manner （P<0.05）， while it down-regulated the protein levels of the actin-binding protein Girdin and Bcl-2 in a dose-dependent manner （P<0.05）. ConclusionSalidroside inhibited the proliferation， migration， and invasion and induced the apoptosis of HepG2 cells through the mitochondrial pathway. The results suggest that salidroside can be used as a potential chemotherapy candidate for liver cancer.

Interpretation of Intelligence Attribute of Supramolecular "Qi Chromatography" Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Its Combined Application with Artificial Intelligence / 中国实验方剂学杂志

In the era of artificial intelligence based on big data， data acquisition， storage and processing are more convenient， which provides a guarantee for accelerating the development of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， but it has not yet achieved organic integration with TCM theory. Based on preliminary research on the supramolecular "Qi chromatography" theory of TCM， combined with the current development trend of artificial intelligence， this paper analyzed the biological intelligence attribute of the function of TCM supramolecular "imprinting template"， in order to provide reference for the development of TCM drug innovation. Both the human body and Chinese materia medica are giant complex supramolecular bodies evolved from natural organisms. According to the "imprinting template"， the "social molecules" are controlled step by step to form the meridians and viscera. The interaction produces the original theory of TCM， in which the self-recognition， self-assembly， self-organization and self-replication of the "imprinting template" reflect the "intelligence" function attributes：the human body uses the "imprinting template" to self-identify and sense the ingredients of TCM， and store the memory information database in the meridian and collateral organs in the form of "imprinting template"， and then pass the "imprinting template". The comparison， analysis， and judgment of imprinting templates guide the self-assembly， self-organization and self-replication among "molecular society"， synthesize biological machines， produce biological functions， repair or strengthen biological supramolecular bodies， and present the most basic "intelligence" attribute. This suggests that the theory of theory-method-prescription-medicine of TCM is the weak embodiment of biological "intelligence"， while the human brain function is the strong embodiment of biological "intelligence". Since the intelligent function of supramolecular "imprinting template" runs through the natural world， artificial intelligence that can characterize the strong "intelligence" form of the human brain will also be integrated into all aspects of the natural world， suggesting the development direction of "intelligence" functionalization of drug innovation mode.

Current Situation and Outlook of Mechanization in Production of Rhizome-type Chinese Herbal Medicines in Sichuan Province / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Sichuan province is extremely rich in Chinese herbal medicine resources，and the Chinese herbal medicine industry is an integral part of the "10+3" industrial system of modern agriculture. However，it has been long constrained by factors such as hilly terrain and scattered planting patterns，which hinders the mechanization development of the Chinese herbal medicine planting industry. Committed to promoting the application and development of the whole-process mechanization of Chinese herbal medicine production， the research group investigated the current situation and mechanization application of the Chinese herbal medicine planting industry in Sichuan province，and clarified the core advantages of the industry in Sichuan province and the urgent need for mechanization production. The current situation of mechanization of key links in producing rhizome-type Chinese herbal medicines such as planting，fertilization，pest and weed controlling，harvesting，and primary processing in production areas were analyzed. The key factors and existing problems in the whole-process mechanization development as well as the key future research directions were discussed，and the mechanization development trend of Ophiopogonis Radix，Chuanxiong Rhizoma and other herbal medicines in the Chinese herbal medicine planting areas of Chengdu Plain were forecasted. This paper focused on the bottleneck of the mechanization application in producing Chinese herbal medicines in Sichuan province，and introduced key technologies and equipment for the whole-process mechanization of rhizome-type Chinese herbal medicine production，which is conducive to transforming and upgrading the Chinese herbal medicine production industry，accelerating the application of high-tech information technology，and promoting the mechanization and intelligentization of the planting industry.

Spectrum-effect relationship of anti-gastric ulcer effect of Shaoyao gancao decoction / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To study the sp ectrum-effect relationship of anti-gastric ulcer effect of Shaoyao gancao decoction. METHODS Eleven batches of Shaoyao gancao decoction were prepared ；gastric ulcer model was established by anhydrous ethanol modeling method. Using Weikangling as positive control ，the effects of Shaoyao gancao decoction on the contents of defensive factors [nitric oxide （NO），epidermal growth factor （EGF），superoxide dismutase （SOD）] and attack factor [malondialdehyde （MDA）] in gastric tissue of model rats were investigated. HPLC fingerprints of 11 batches of Shaoyao gancao decoction were established and similarity evaluation was performed with Similarity Evaluation System of Traditional Chinese Medicine Chromatographic Fingerprint （2004A edition ）； common peaks were identified by comparing with mixed control. The spectrum-effect relationship of Shaoyao gancao decoction against gastric ulcer was analyzed based on the grey correlation analysis. RESULTS Eleven batches of Shaoyao ganyao decoction could significantly decrease the content of MDA in gastric tissue ，while increased the contents of NO ，EGF and SOD in gastric ulcer model rats （P＜0.01），and had a certain inhibitory effect on the gastric ulcer. There were 23 common peaks in chromatograms of 11 batches of samples ，and the similarity with the control fingerprint was not less than 0.9. By comparing with mixed control ，7 common peaks were identified ，namely gallic acid （peak 5），albiflorin（peak 9），paeoniflorin（peak 10），liquiritin（peak 12），isoliquiritin apioside （peak 14），isoliquiritoside（peak 15）， glycyrrhizic acid （peak 22）. The average correlation degree of 7 identified common peaks and pharmacodynamic indexes were greater than 0.6，of which peak 22（glycyrrhizic acid ），peak 10（paeoniflorin）and peak 12（liquiritin）had the largest correlation ， and their values were 0.807，0.772 and 0.770 respectively. RESULTS The anti-gastric ulcer effect of Shaoyao gancao decoction is the result of the synergistic effect of multiple components ，among which glycyrrhizic acid ，paeoniflorin and liquiritin may be the main pharmacodynamic components.

Protective Effect of Effective Components of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt on Retinopathy of db/db Diabetic Mice.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the main diabetic microvascular complications in clinical practice, which features a complicated mechanism and insignificant efficacy. Therefore, it is urgent to find effective drugs. Xinjiang Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt is a rare alpine wild plant with unique effects and extremely high medicinal value. Preliminary studies have shown that it can reduce elevated blood sugar, unhealthy lipids, and antioxidants. This study was intended to investigate the protective effect of the effective components of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt on the retinopathy of db/db diabetic mice and provide experimental basis for exploring the efficacy of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt and the development of new drugs for the treatment of DR. METHOD: The db/db diabetic mouse models were used, and the effective components of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt were obtained from Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt using macroporous resin enrichment method after alcohol extraction. These mice were divided into the normal group, model group, and high-dose Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt groups, the positive drug metformin group, and the metformin and Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt combination group. After these db/db type 2 diabetes mouse models were intervened for 10 weeks, their weight, blood sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin, serum MDA, SOD, and other indicators of each group were tested, and the expression changes of VEGF, ICAM1, PEDF, Bcl-2 in mouse retina were observed by immunohistochemistry method. RESULT: The effective components of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt were obtained using macroporous resin enrichment method after alcohol extraction, which were mainly comprised of chlorogenic acid, flavone mariside, mariside, dicaffeoyl quinic acid, and flavone oxanine, with a total content of 532.82 mg/g, and the total flavonoid content of 330 mg/g. The effective components of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt significantly reduced blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin and improved oxidative stress levels in db/db diabetic mice. Meanwhile, they reduced the expression of VEGF and ICAM1 in retinopathy and increased the expression of Bcl-2 and PEDF. The combination of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt and metformin has the most significant effect. CONCLUSION: Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt can prevent and treat early diabetic retinopathy by affecting the expression of retinopathy-related factors.

Secretory lipid transfer protein OsLTPL94 acts as a target of EAT1 and is required for rice pollen wall development.

The plant pollen wall protects the male gametophyte from various biotic and abiotic stresses. The formation of a unique pollen wall structure and elaborate exine pattern is a well-organized process, which needs coordination between reproductive cells and the neighboring somatic cells. However, molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain largely unknown. Here, we report a rice male-sterile mutant (l94) that exhibits defective pollen exine patterning and abnormal tapetal cell development. MutMap and knockout analyses demonstrated that the causal gene encodes a type-G non-specific lipid transfer protein (OsLTPL94). Histological and cellular analyses established that OsLTPL94 is strongly expressed in the developing microspores and tapetal cells, and its protein is secreted to the plasma membrane. The l94 mutation impeded the secretory ability of OsLTPL94 protein. Further in vivo and in vitro investigations supported the hypothesis that ETERNAL TAPETUM 1 (EAT1), a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor (bHLH TF), activated OsLTPL94 expression through direct binding to the E-box motif of the OsLTPL94 promoter, which was supported by the positive correlation between the expression of EAT1 and OsLTPL94 in two independent eat1 mutants. Our findings suggest that the secretory OsLTPL94 plays a key role in the coordinated development of tapetum and microspores with the regulation of EAT1.

Improvement of Total Flavonoids from Dracocephalum moldavica L. in Rats with Chronic Mountain Sickness through 1H-NMR Metabonomics.

BACKGROUND: We analyzed the effects of total flavonoids from Dracocephalum moldavica L. (D. moldavica L.) on improving chronic mountain sickness (CMS) in rats using the NMR hydrogen spectrum (1H-NMR) metabonomics technology. METHOD: We extracted the total flavonoids of D. moldavica L with 60% ethanol reflux. A CMS model was established with 48 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, which were then randomly divided into six groups (n = 8): control group (normal saline, 0.4 mL/100 g/d, ig); model group (normal saline, 0.4 mL/100 g/d, ig); nifedipine group (nifedipine tablets, 2.7 mg/kg/d, ig); and high-, middle-, and low-dose groups of total flavonoids from D. moldavica L. (DML.H, DML.M, and DML.L, receiving total flavonoids from D. moldavica L. at 400, 200, and 100 mg/kg/d, ig, respectively). The sera of the rats in all the groups were determined, and NMR hydrogen spectrum metabolomics was analyzed. The serum contents of apolipoproteins A1 (Apo-A1) and E (Apo-E) were determined, and histopathological changes in the brain tissue of each group were observed. RESULTS: Serum tests showed that total flavonoids from D. moldavica L. significantly increased the Apo-A1 and Apo-E levels in rats with CMS (P < 0.05). The results of serum metabonomics showed that total flavonoids from D. moldavica L can alleviate amino acid, energy, and lipid metabolism disorders in rats with CMS. Pathohistological examination of brain tissue showed that these flavonoids improved pathological changes, such as meningeal vasodilation, hyperemia, edema of brain parenchyma, inflammatory cell infiltration, increase in perivascular space, and increase in pyramidal cells. CONCLUSION: Total flavonoids from D. moldavica L. have potential therapeutic effects on CMS. The possible mechanism is the reduction of oxidative damage through the alleviation of metabolism disorder.