Rapid Detection of Five Estrogens Added Illegally to Dietary Supplements by Combining TLC with Raman Imaging Microscope.

Estrogens added illegally to dietary supplements are hazardous to human health. Traditional detection and analysis methods have many limitations, and we have developed an assay that combines thin-layer chromatography with Raman imaging microscopy (TLC-RIM). The five estrogens (estrone, estradiol, estriol, ethinyl estradiol, and diethylstilbestrol) were initially separated by TLC, then detected by area scanning Raman imaging with a 532 nm laser under a microscope. Raman spectra were obtained for each estrogen, which were used for detecting estrogen illegally added to botanical dietary supplements. The LOD of each estrogen was 0.4, 1.0, 0.8, 0.2, and 0.2 mg/mL, respectively. The matrix in the real sample did not interfere with the detection of estrogens. The method was fast, sensitive, stable, specific, and reliable.

[Serum pharmacochemistry of honey-fried Stemona tuberosa Lour. by UHPLC-QTOF/MS and MetaboLynx analysis].

A high throughput UHPLC-QTOF/MS method was established to analyze and identify the constituents in rat plasma after oral administration of honey-fried Stemona tuberosa Lour. extract. Automated data analysis software MetaboLynx was developed in analysis and identification of the bioactive components and their metabolites in rat plasma following oral administration of honey-fried S. tuberosa Lour. extract. As a result, 40 compounds including 12 prototype components and 28 metabolites were characterized. The constituents absorbed into blood and the possible metabolites which were demonstrated to originate from the active fraction of honey-fried S. tuberosa Lour. were responsible for the observed efficacy. Its serum pharmacochemistry should be subjected to complete investigation to illuminate the pharmacology and active mechanism of honey-fried S. tuberosa Lour.

A modified sampling method for the precise detection of prostate cancer tissues using a three-dimensional stereotaxic location technique.

Background: The rapid and accurate acquisition of prostate cancer pathological tissue is critical to prostate cancer research but has traditionally proven challenging. However, the gradual application of three-dimensional (3D) modeling in medical practice has overcome many of the related limitations. This cohort study aimed to compare the difference between a 3D stereotaxic sampling method and traditional cognitive sampling method to clarify the factors affecting sampling. Methods: An analysis of 111 men who received radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between November 2020 and April 2022 was conducted. The positive rate of the cognitive sampling method and the 3D stereotaxic sampling method and their respective influencing factors, such as age, body mass index (BMI), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), PSA density (PSAD), International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade, tumor volume, number of positive needles from perineal puncture, clinical T stage, and tumor image location, were compared and analyzed, and a cohort study was conducted. Results: Among the 111 patients, there were 57 cases of cognitive sampling and 54 cases of 3D stereotaxic sampling. In this study, the positive rate of cognitive sampling was 29.82% (17/57,), and the positive rate of 3D stereotaxic sampling was 61.11% (33/54), with the positive rate of 3D stereotaxic sampling being significantly higher than that of cognitive sampling (P=0.001). In cognitive sampling, tumor volume [odds ratio (OR) =1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.20], number of positive biopsy cores (OR =1.30; 95% CI: 1.06-1.60), Prostate Imaging Report and Data System (PI-RADS) score (OR =5.54; 95% CI: 1.60-19.12), and clinical T stage (OR =2.36; 95% CI: 1.31-4.25) were identified as influencing factors; in 3D stereotaxic sampling, these influencing factors were eliminated, with ORs of 1.22 (95% CI: 0.78-1.90), 0.88 (95% CI: 0.72-1.09), 1.09 (95% CI: 0.62-1.92), and 1.51 (95% CI: 0.86-2.65), respectively, representing a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusions: The 3D stereotaxic sampling method can accurately obtain the required prostate cancer tissue from the prostate in vitro within a short time, and the factors affecting the positive rate of sampling can be eliminated.

Clinical risk prediction model and external validation of positive surgical margin in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy based on MRI lesion location.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the composition of lesions in different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) partitions of positive surgical margins (PSM) after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, explore the influence of lesion location on PSM, and construct a clinical prediction model to predict the risk of PSM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 309 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy from 2018 to 2021 in our center was performed. 129 patients who met the same criteria from January to September 2022 were external validation cohorts. RESULTS: The incidence of PSM in transition zone (TZ) lesions was higher than that in peripheral zone (PZ) lesions. The incidence of PSM in the middle PZ was lower than that in other regions. Prostate specific antigen (PSA), clinical T-stage, the number of positive cores, international society of urological pathology (ISUP) grade (biopsy), MRI lesion location, extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), pseudo-capsule invasion (PCI), long diameter of lesions, lesion volume, lesion volume ratio, PSA density were related to PSM. MRI lesion location and PCI were independent risk factors for PSM. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to construct a clinical prediction model for PSM, including five variables: the number of positive cores, SVI, MRI lesion location, long diameter of lesions, and PSA. CONCLUSION: The positive rate of surgical margin in middle PZ was significantly lower than that in other regions, and MRI lesion location was an independent risk factor for PSM.

Sensomics-assisted flavor decoding of coarse cereal Huangjiu.

Huangjiu is one of China's national alcoholic beverages. The key odorants in four coarse cereal Huangjius (CCH) were identified by sensomics approach. Eighty-eight odorants were identified using solvent-assisted flavor evaporation combined with gas chromatography-olfactometry/spectrometry and aroma extract dilution analysis. Four aroma recombinates showed good similarities to the corresponding original aroma profiles (93.27-96.97%). Partial least squares regression analysis predicted vanillin and ß-damascenone were the main causes of the aroma differences in the four CCHs. For the first time, omission and addition tests showed that ß-damascenone caused the sweet and tea leaf aromas, whereas hexanal, nonanal, and 2-methyl-3-(methyldisulfanyl)furan contributed to the cooked grain aroma. Finally, 2-phenylethanol, ethyl (E)-3-phenyl-2-propenoate, ethyl 3-phenylpropanoate, vanillin, 3-(methylsulfanyl)propanal, γ-nonalactone, sotolon, ß-damascenone, hexanal, nonanal, and 2-methyl-3-(methyldisulfanyl)furan were confirmed as the key odorants in the CCHs. 2-Methyl-3-(methyldisulfanyl)furan was a newly identified key odorant in Huangjiu.

Determination of hemocoagulase agkistrodon in a pharmaceutical preparation by high-performance liquid chromatography with pre-column derivatization and fluorescence detection.

Currently, there is no analytical method for the quantification of hemocoagulase agkistrodon (HCA) in pharmaceutical preparations. This study presents a pre-column derivatization method for the quantification of HCA, a compound extracted from the venom of Agkistrodon acutus, in a pharmaceutical preparation (trade name Suling). In the proposed method, 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate was used to tag the HCA substrate, and the derivatives were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Complete and homogeneous derivatization of HCA was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis. The specificity of the method was validated by forced degradation, and interference was assessed using a placebo. Under the optimum chromatographic conditions, the calibration curve was linear over a range of 10 to 500 ng/mL, featuring a correlation coefficient of 0.9999. The limits of detection and quantification of the method were 0.57 and 1.6 ng/mL, respectively. The percentage recovery of HCA in quality control samples ranged from 97.49 to 99.15%. Overall, this novel method can be applied to the quantitative determination of HCA in pharmaceutical preparations.