IL-17A/p38 Signaling Pathway Induces Alveolar Epithelial Cell Pyroptosis and Hyperpermeability in Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung Injury by Activating NLRP3 Inflammasome.

Sepsis is a syndrome with poor prognosis. Nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and T helper 17 (Th17) cells are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. This study aims to explore their roles and underlying mechanisms in sepsis. The blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid are collected from sepsis patients and healthy donors. A sepsis mice model is established by cecal ligation puncture (CLP). The contents of cytokines are detected by ELISA. The amounts of Th17 cells, IL-17A, IL-1ß, IL-18, and lipopolysaccharide is significantly elevated in sepsis patients. The increased differentiation of Th17 cells can promote lung cell pyroptosis and induce hyperpermeability via activating NLRP3 inflammasome and p38 pathway. The inhibitors targeting Th17 cells, NLRP3 inflammasome, and p38 pathway can significantly alleviate lung injury in sepsis mice. Th17 cells can secrete IL-17A to activate NLRP3 inflammasome via p38 signaling pathway, which contributes to the development of sepsis-induced acute lung injury.

[Distinguishing between Artemisia stolonifera and A. argyi by specific PCR of leaves and non-glandular trichomes].

Artemisia stolonifera is a relative of A. argyi. The two species are difficult to be distinguished due to the similarity in leaf shape and have even less distinctive features after processing. This study aims to establish a method to quickly distinguish between them. At the same time, we examined the reasonability and applicability of the specific polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method. The C/T single nucleotide polymorphism was detected at the position 202 of the sequence, based on which specific primers were designed to identify these two species. The PCR with the specific primer JNC-F and the universal primer ITS3R produced a specific band at 218 bp for A. argyi and no band for A. stolonifera, which can be used to detect at least 3% of A. argyi samples mixed in A. stolonifera samples. The PCR with the specific primer KY-F and the universal primer ITS3R produced a specific band at 218 bp for A. stolonifera and no band for A. argyi, which can be used to detect at least 5% of A. stolonifera samples mixed with A. argyi. The limit of detection of the established method was 5 ng DNA. The established PCR method can accurately distinguish between A. stolonifera and A. argyi, which provides an experimental basis for the quality control of A. stolonifera and determines whether the herbs are adulterated.

The immunomodulation role of Th17 and Treg in renal transplantation.

Kidney transplantation (KT) is an ultimate treatment of end-stage chronic kidney disease, which can meet a lot of complications induced by immune system. With under-controlled immunosuppression, the patient will obtain a good prognosis. Otherwise, allograft disfunction will cause severe organ failure and even immune collapse. Acute or chronic allograft dysfunction after KT is related to Th17, Treg, and Th17/Treg to a certain extent. Elevated Th17 levels may lead to acute rejection or chronic allograft dysfunction. Treg mainly plays a protective role on allografts by regulating immune response. The imbalance of the two may further aggravate the balance of immune response and damage the allograft. Controlling Th17 level, improving Treg function and level, and adjusting Th17/Treg ratio may have positive effects on longer allograft survival and better prognosis of receptors.

Effectiveness of parent-training program on children with autism spectrum disorder in China.

Objective: This study intends to explore the effect of parent-training program on the rehabilitation intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Chinese-speaking areas of China by offering parent skill training and psychology counseling. Methods: From January 2018 to June 2019, a total of 80 children diagnosed with ASD from the Department of Children Healthcare of Wuxi Children's Hospital were randomly grouped into the parent training groups and control groups. Parents in the training group received 12 weeks of skill training, including 8 group and 2 individual training sessions, as well as psychology counseling. This enabled them to give their children >2 h of intervention training daily in a natural environment. Children in the control group were placed on a rehabilitation waiting list or received general community training. Before grouping and after the intervention, all children underwent neuropsychological evaluations with Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Gesell Developmental Schedule (GDS). GDS covers five sectors, namely adaptive behavior, gross motor, fine motor, language, and personal-social behavior. Results: Statistically significant differences were not detected between the two groups in ABC, CARS, and GDS scoring at baseline evaluation. And significant differences were detected between the two groups in ABC, CARS, adaptive behavior, and personal-social behavior scoring at endpoint evaluation. Furthermore, the re-evaluation results of ABC scoring and CARS scoring of the children in the parent training group decreased significantly from the preliminary evaluation results when compared before and after the intervention. Moreover, the intragroup comparison of adaptive behavior scoring, language scoring, and personal-social behavior scoring of the experiment group increased significantly from the preliminary evaluation results, while the difference of the same of the children in the control group between re-evaluation and preliminary evaluation did not differ significantly. Conclusions: In China, the parent-training program enables parents to train ASD children in a natural environment, which would markedly improve behavioral problems, core symptoms, adaptability, language competence, and social development capability.

[Identification, biological characteristics, and screening of effective fungicides of Phoma rhei causing leaf spot on Polygonum cuspidatum].

Severe leaf spot on Polygonum cuspidatum was found in the planting base of P. cuspidatum in Fangxian county, Shiyan of Hubei province. To clarify the types of pathogens and their pathogenesis, the present study isolated and purified the pathogen of leaf spot disease of P. cuspidatum according to Koch's postulates, determined the pathogenicity of the pathogen, and investigated its biological characteristics. Meanwhile, the inhibitory effects of 11 types of fungicides on the bacteria were determined according to the mycelium growth rate, and suitable prevention and control drugs were selected. The results showed that the pathogen isolated from the diseased leaves of P. cuspidatum was Phoma rhei by morphological and molecular identification. The colony morphology and microscopic characteristics were the same as those of Ph. rhei. The homology of rDNA-ITS and TEF gene sequences with Ph. rhei reached 99.96% and 99.43%, respectively. The optimal growth temperature of Ph. rhei was 25 ℃, and the optimal pH was 7-10. Furthermore, Ph. rhei grew faster under dark or light conditions. In fungicides, 0.3% eugenol, 250 g·L~(-1) propiconazole, and 33.5% quinoline copper had significant inhibitory effects on the pathogen with EC_(50) values of 57.54, 59.58, 88.69 µg·mL~(-1), respectively. Eugenol is a botanical fungicide, which can be used as a green and environmentally friendly fungicide in the prevention and control of P. cuspidatum. This study reported for the first time that the pathogen of P. cuspidatum leaf spot was Ph. rhei. investigated the biological characteristics of the pathogen, and screened the indoor chemicals, which provided a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of P. cuspidatum leaf spot in production.

Preliminary Study on the Combination Effect of Clindamycin and Low Dose Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole on Severe Pneumocystis Pneumonia After Renal Transplantation.

Objective: Evaluate the effect of the combination of clindamycin with low-dose trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) regimen on sever Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) after renal transplantation. Method: 20 severe PCP patients after renal transplantation were included in this historical-control, retrospective study. A 10 patients were treated with the standard dose of TMP/SMX (T group), the other 10 patients were treated with the combination of clindamycin and low dose TMP/SMX (CT group). Results: Although there was no significant difference in the hospital survival between the two groups, the CT protocol improved the PaO2/FiO2 ratio more significantly and rapidly after the 6th ICU day (1.51 vs. 0.38, P = 0.014). CT protocol also ameliorated the pulmonary infiltration and the lactate dehydrogenase level more effectively. Moreover, the CT protocol reduced the incidence of pneumomediastinum (0 vs. 50%, P = 0.008), the length of hospital staying (26.5 vs. 39.0 days, P = 0.011) and ICU staying (12.5 vs. 22.5 days, P = 0.008). Furthermore, more thrombocytopenia (9/10 vs. 3/10, P = 0.020) was emerged in the T group than in the CT group. The total adverse reaction rate was much lower in the CT group than in the T group (8/80 vs. 27/80, P < 0.001). Consequently, the dosage of TMP/SMX was reduced in 8 patients, while only 2 patients in the CT group received TMP/SMX decrement (P = 0.023). Conclusion: The current study proposed that clindamycin combined with low-dose TMP/SMX was more effective and safer the than single use of TMP/SMX for severe PCP patients after renal transplantation (NCT04328688).

[Effect of intradermal needling combined with oral motor therapy for salivation in children with cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of combination of intradermal needling with oral motor therapy and simple oral motor therapy on salivation in children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: A total of 60 children with salivation in cerebral palsy were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with intradermal needling (kept for 24 hours each time at Jiache [ST 6], Dicang [ST 4], tongue three needles, etc. ) and oral motor therapy, while the control group was only given oral motor therapy. The intradermal needling was performed 3 times a week, and oral motor therapy was performed 5 times a week, 4 weeks as a course, totally 3 courses of treatment were required. The classification of teacher drooling scale (TDS), drooling severity and Kubota water swallow test, dysphagia disorders survey (DDS) score were compared before treatment and after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment in both groups, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated. RESULTS: After 8 weeks of treatment in the observation group and after 12 weeks of treatment in the two groups, the classification of TDS and drooling severity were improved (P<0.05), and the observation group was better than the control group after 12 weeks of treatment (P<0.05). After 8 and 12 weeks of treatment, the DDS scores of oral period in the observation group were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The total effective rate in the observation group was 83.3% (25/30), which was higher than 53.3% (16/30) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination of intradermal needling with oral motor therapy can improve salivation symptoms and swallowing function in children with cerebral palsy, the effect is better than oral motor therapy alone, and the effect is earlier.

Root Endophytic Fungi Regulate Changes in Sugar and Medicinal Compositions of Polygonum cuspidatum.

Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc is an important industrial crop because it contains a large amount of medicinal secondary metabolites (such as polydatin, resveratrol, chrysophanol, and emodin). However, it is unclear whether root endophytic fungi increase the content of secondary metabolites in the plant. This study aimed to analyze the effects of Funneliformis mosseae (Fm) and Piriformospora indica (Pi) alone or in combination on plant growth, root morphology, thirteen sugars concentrations, and six secondary metabolites (physcion, chrysophanol, emodin, aloe-emodin, polydatin, and resveratrol) concentrations of P. cuspidatum. After 11 weeks of the fungal inoculation, the roots could be colonized by Fm and Pi single or in combination, along with the higher root colonization frequency of Fm > Pi > Fm + Pi in the descending order. In addition, Fm and Pi improved plant growth performance (plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, and shoot and root biomass) and root morphology (average diameter, maximum diameter, total length, area, and volume) to varying degrees, depending on fungal inoculations, in which Pi displayed a relatively better effect on plant growth. Single Fm and Pi inoculation significantly increased three disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, and trehalose) accumulation, while dual inoculum (Fm + Pi) only elevated sucrose concentrations. Most monosaccharides concentrations, such as D-arabinose, D-galactose, D-sorbitol, D-fructose, glucose, and L-rhamnose were not altered or inhibited by the endophytic fungi, except the increase in L-fucose and inositol. All fungal treatments significantly increased root chrysophanol and resveratrol concentrations, while decreased aloe-emodin concentrations. In addition, single Pi and dual Fm + Pi increased emodin concentrations, and single Fm and dual Fm + Pi elevated physcion and polydatin concentrations. It was concluded that Fm and Pi promoted the growth of P. cuspidatum, and the combination of Fm and Pi was more conducive to the production of some secondary metabolites than single inoculation.

Computed Tomography-Based Evaluation of Volume and Position Changes of the Target Region and Organs at Risk During Radiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze changes in volume and position of target regions and organs at risk (OARs) during radiotherapy for esophageal cancer patients. METHODS: Overall, 16 esophageal cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy, including 10 cases of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and six of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), were enrolled. The prescription doses for the planning target volumes (PTVs) were as follows: PTV1, 64 Gy/32 fractions; and PTV2, 46 Gy/23 fractions. Repeat computed tomography (CT) was performed for patients after the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th fractions. Delineation of the gross tumor volume (GTV) and OAR volume was determined using five repeat CTs performed by the same physician. The target and OAR volumes and centroid positions were recorded and used to analyze volume change ratio (VCR), center displacement (ΔD), and changes in the distance from the OAR centroid positions to the planned radiotherapy isocenter (distance to isocenter, DTI) during treatment. RESULTS: No patient showed significant changes in target volume (TV) after the first week of radiotherapy (five fractions). However, TV gradually decreased over the following weeks, with the rate slowing after the fourth week (40 Gy). The comparison of TV from baseline to 40 Gy (20 fractions) showed that average GTVs decreased from 130.7 ± 63.1 cc to 92.1 ± 47.2 cc, with a VCR of -29.21 ± 13.96% (p<0.01), while the clinical target volume (CTV1) decreased from 276.7 ± 98.2 cc to 246.7 ± 87.2 cc, with a VCR of -10.34 ± 7.58% (p<0.01). As TVs decreased, ΔD increased and DTI decreased. After the fourth week of radiotherapy (40 Gy), centroids of GTV, CTV1, and prophylactic CTV (CTV2) showed average deviations in ΔD of 7.6 ± 4.0, 6.9 ± 3.4, and 6.0 ± 3.0 mm, respectively. The average DTI of the heart decreased by 4.53 mm (from 15.61 ± 2.96 cm to 15.16 ± 2.27 cm). CONCLUSION: During radiotherapy for esophageal cancer, Targets and OARs change significantly in volume and position during the 2nd-4th weeks. Image-guidance and evaluation of dosimetric changes are recommended for these fractions of treatment to appropriate adjust treatment plans.

[Effect of Jin's three-needle combined with MyoTrac biostimulation therapy on upper limb function in children with spastic hemiplegia].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the therapeutic effect among Jin 's three-needle combined with MyoTrac biostimulation therapy, simple Jin's three-needle and simple MyoTrac biostimulation therapy on upper limb function in children with spastic hemiplegia. METHODS: A total of 120 children with spastic hemiplegia were randomized into an observation group, a control group 1 and a control group 2, 40 cases in each group. Conventional occupational therapy was adopted in each group. Additionally, Jin's three-needle therapy was applied in the control group 1, scalp acupuncture and body acupuncture were sustained for 1 h and 30 min respectively, once a day, 5 times a week; MyoTrac biostimulation therapy was adopted in the control group 2, once a day, 15 min each time, 5 times a week; Jin 's three-needle combined with MyoTrac biostimulation therapy were given in the observation group. Two months were as one course, and totally 3 courses were required in the 3 groups. Before treatment and 2, 4, 6 months into treatment, the standard grasping score (sGr) and the standard visual-motor integration score (sVI) of Peabody developmental motor scales-2 (PDMS-2), the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) grade and active range of movement (AROM) of wrist joints were recorded in the 3 groups. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, sGr of 4, 6 months into treatment was increased in the observation group (P<0.05), sGr of 6 months into treatment was increased in the control group 1 and the control group 2 (P<0.05); sVI of 2, 4, 6 months into treatment was increased in the observation group (P<0.05), sVI of 6 months into treatment was increased in the control group 1 and the control group 2 (P<0.05). sGr and sVI of 6 months into treatment in the observation group were higher than those in the control group 1 and the control group 2 (P<0.05). Compared before treatment, the MAS grade of 6 months into treatment was improved in the 3 groups (P<0.05), and that in the observation group was superior to the control group 1 and the control group 2 (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Jin 's three-needle combined with MyoTrac biostimulation therapy can effectively improve the fine function and muscle tone of upper limbs in children with spastic hemiplegia, and the improvement is superior to the simple Jin 's three-needle and the MyoTrac biostimulation therapy.

[Establishment of HPLC fingerprint and comparison of active ingredients between varieties of chrysanthemum in Hubei province].

In this paper,the fingerprint of different varieties of chrysanthemum were established with " Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Chinese Materia Medica" and the content of chlorogenic acid,galuteolin and 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid in 29 batches of different varieties of chrysanthemum in Futianhe town,Huangtugang town and Wuhan city were compared. At the same time,similarity evaluation and common peak clustering analysis were carried out. There were 11 common peaks in the fingerprints of 29 batches of different varieties of chrysanthemum,and the similarity ranged from 0. 802 to 0. 975. Hangju and Gongju were divided into one group by cluster analysis,and Huangju into another category. The established fingerprint method provides a basis for the identification of chrysanthemum cultivars. The content of 29 batches of chlorogenic acid was between 4. 092 and 11. 723 mg·g-1,luteolin was between 1. 010 and 11. 713 mg·g-1,and 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid was between 8. 828 and 33. 435 mg·g-1,both reach the pharmacopoeia standard,but the effective components of different varieties of chrysanthemum were quite different. Based on the contents of three active ingredients and the diversity of fingerprint peaks,the quality of the characteristic germplasm resource of local Fubaijuin Macheng is superior,and the protection of local characteristic germplasm resource should be strengthened in production.

[Effects of fresh-cut on drying rate and quality of Panax notoginseng].

To study the effects of fresh-cut drying methods on the appearance and internal components of Panax notoginseng, and explore the feasibility of fresh-cut drying methods of P. notoginseng, so as to provide more effective processing methods for the production of P. notoginseng slices and Chinese patent medicines. In this study, we have compared the effects of 6 different drying methods on drying time, drying rate, density, appearance and internal components of P. notoginseng roots. It takes about 453 h to dry by whole-root drying in the sun, with a long constant speed period and a slow drying rate, the time of whole-root drying at 50 ℃ was shortened by 61.6% compared with whole-root drying in the sun, which resulted in the decrease of density and poor appearance of the medicinal material with hollow and crack appeared in the xylem, while the drying time of fresh-cut drying method was reduced by 61.82% to 91.58% and the drying rate increased greatly, due to the relatively slow drying process in the sun or in the shade after fresh-cut, salting-out and whitening appeared on the surface, and the internal components were all decreased to some extent. The drying time of fresh-cut drying at 50 ℃ was 91.58% and 68.83% shorter than that of whole-root drying in the sun and at 50 ℃, respectively. When drying at 50 ℃ after fresh-cut, the appearance and content of internal components of the medicinal materials were better, the appearance was yellowish green, the cut sections were clear with uniform pore distribution, and the content of saponin components was increased by 7.24% compared with that of the whole-root drying at 50 ℃, When drying at 40 ℃, the surface of slices has salting-out and whitening spots, and the loss of dencichine and total sugar was large, but at 60 ℃, this high temperature made the rate of dehydration of slices was extremely fast, which led to severe cracking and fragmentation, and the loss of total sugar and alcohol extract was large. By vacuum freeze drying after fresh-cut, the structure of medicinal materials slices was loose, the density was greatly reduced, and the appearance was different from those recorded in traditional books. The contents of total saponin components and dencichine were increased by 16.51% and 22.54%, respectively, compared with traditional whole-root drying. The fresh-cut process method is feasible in the production of P. notoginseng slices. In production, it is recommended that drying at 50 ℃ after fresh-cut can make the medicinal materials better in appearance and content of internal components, which is convenient for the subsequent processing and industrial feeding extraction. For the purpose of internal contents, it is better to adopt freeze-drying after fresh-cut processing method.

A comparative study of anti-aging properties and mechanism: resveratrol and caloric restriction.

Resveratrol and caloric restriction (CR) are the powerful therapeutic options for anti-aging. Here, their comparative effect on longevity-associated gene silencing information regulator (SIRT1) were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. IMR-90 cells treated with 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) were applied to establish a cellular senescence model, and rats treated with D-galactose (D-gal) were used as an aging animal model. Resveratrol and CR exhibited similar anti-aging activities, evidenced by inhibiting senescence and apoptosis, and restoring cognitive impairment and oxidative damage. Moreover, they could up-regulate telomerase (TE) activity, increase expressions of SIRT1, forkhead box 3a (Foxo3a), active regulator of SIRT1 (AROS) and Hu antigen R (HuR ), but decrease p53 and deleted in breast cancer 1 (DBC1) levels. However, 10 µM resveratrol in vitro and the high dose group in vivo showed relatively stronger activities of anti-aging and stimulating SIRT1 level than CR. In conclusion, resveratrol and CR showed similar anti-aging activities on SIRT1 signaling, implicating the potential of resveratrol as a CR mimetic.

[Taxonomy and Distribution of Chinese Medicinal Centipedes].

Objective: To study the taxonomy and distribution of Chinese medicinal centipedes. Methods: The species of Chinese medicinal centipedes were investigated in the light of their morphology. According to the feature of life, the distribution of centipedes were explored. Results: There were 12 centipede species in China, and seven of them were used for medical, the species could be effectively distinguished by the identification key. It was suggested that their characteristics were related to the climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, altitude and air pressure. Conclusion: The distribution of medicinal centipede is characteristics of "three river system distribution belts" and "three geographical distribution areas". The results provide the basis for the development and application of medicinal centipedes in China.

Kruppel-like factor 2 inhibit the angiogenesis of cultured human liver sinusoidal endothelial cells through the ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) is a crucial anti-angiogenic factor. However, its precise role in hepatic angiogenesis induced by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) remain unclear. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of KLF2 on angiogenesis of LSECs and to explore the corresponding mechanism. Cultured human LSECs were infected with different lentiviruses to overexpress or suppress KLF2 expression. The CCK-8 assay, transwell migration assay and tube formation test, were used to investigate the roles of KLF2 in the proliferation, migration and vessel tube formation of LSECs, respectively. The expression and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 were detected by western blot. We discovered that the up-regulation of KLF2 expression dramatically inhibited proliferation, migration and tube formation in treated LSECs. Correspondingly, down-regulation of KLF2 expression significantly promoted proliferation, migration and tube formation in treated LSECs. Additionally, KLF2 inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 pathway, followed by the function of KLF2 in the angiogenesis of LSECs disrupted. In conclusion, KLF2 suppressed the angiogenesis of LSECs through inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and vessel tube formation. These functions of KLF2 may be mediated through the ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

[Quantitative models of Raman spectroscopy for five kinds of traditional Chinese medicine containing CaCO3 based on an improved siPLS].

The aim of this paper is to apply Raman spectroscopy technique to develop rapid quantitative models for five kinds of Traditional Chinese Medicine containing CaCO3. In the experiment, Raman spectras of 67 batch of sample including Otolithum Sciaenae, Galaxeae Os, Ophicalcitum, Calcite, Stalactite and their mixture which had different content of CaCO3 were collected, and the quantitative models were established by using an improved siPLS to optimize the characteristic spectral bands and using the CaCO3 contents which were measured by EDTA titration method as references. Compared with the results by EDTA titration, the established quantitative model for CaCO, content showed a prediction result that the average relative deviation of the prediction results is 2. 71% and the average recovery rate was 100.46%, when the content is between 0.465 4-0.999 7, and when the characteristic spectral bands of 1 290-1 280, 730-714, 700-690, 660-650, 465-460, 455-445, 405-385 cm(-1) had been optimized. The result also showed that the model using Raman spectroscopy and based on an improved siPLS can get a rapid determination for contents of 5 kinds of Traditional Chinese Medicine containing CaCO3.

[Molecular identification of Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants using ITS2 barcode].

OBJECTIVE: To identify Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants using DNA barcoding technique. METHODS: Nine samples of five species were PCR amplified and sequenced, and twelve samples were downloaded from the GenBank. The intra-specific and interspecific K2P distances were calculated, and neighbor-joining( NJ) tree was constructed by MEGA 5.0. RESULTS: The results showed the intra-specific genetic distances of Hibiscus syriacus were ranged from 0.009 to 0.056, which were far lower than inter-specific genetic distances between Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants (0.236 - 0.301). Variable sites within Hibiscus syriacus ranged from 2 to 9 which were far less than the adulterants (45 - 52); Different samples of Hibiscus syriacus were gathered together and could be distinguished from its adulterants by NJ tree. CONCLUSION: ITS2 can discriminate Hibiscus syriacus from its adulterants correctly. The ITS2 region is an efficient barcode for authentication of Hibiscus syriacus and its adulterants.

[Development history of methodology of Chinese medicines' authentication].

This paper reviewed the emergence process of the subject and methodology of Chinese Medicines' Authentication. Based on the research progress and major achievements acquired in research of each methodology including identification of origin, description, microscopic, physical, chemical and biological characteristics of Chinese medicines, it is expounded that the development process of each methodology combined modem digital technology, information science and its own characteristics. And the development direction is further described for methodology of Chinese Medicines' Authentication towards systematization and informationization.

[Aquatic ecological risk assessment of microcystins and nitrogen pollution based on species sensitivity distribution].

Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) methods in both forward and reverse modes were used to evaluate the ecological risk and determine the contaminant concentration threshold for the protection of aquatic species and ecological quality. In this study, the existing toxicity data of freshwater organisms were fitted to SSD functions to estimate the hazardous concentrations for 5% of the species (HC5) for microcystins, ammonia and nitrite, and the ecological risk of their mixtures. The potentially affected fractions (PAFs) of various concentrations of microcystins, ammonia and nitrite were also calculated. Results showed that microcystins exhibited a higher ecological risk than ammonia and nitrite. The HC5 value for microcystins exposure was 19.22 microg x L(-1) whereas the HC5 values for ammonia and nitrite exposure were 6583.94 microg x L(-1) and 334.33 microg x L(-1), respectively. The sensitivity of freshwater organisms varied with exposed concentrations of microcystins, ammonia and nitrite. Crustaceans were more sensitive than fishes to microcystins, and less sensitive than fishes to nitrite when the concentrations of microcystins and nitrite were below 125.04 microg x L(-1) and 2989.40 microg x L(-1), respectively, and vice versa when exposed to higher concentrations of microcystins and nitrite. No significant difference was observed for the sensitivities of fishes and crustaceans exposed to ammonia. In studies with selected lakes in China, our results showed that the ecological risk in both Tai and Hongfeng lakes exceeded the permissible HC5 threshold, and the multiple substance potentially affected fractions (msPAFs) of microcystins, ammonia and nitrite were 2.6%-5.6%, indicating that the ecological risk of their mixtures was more threatening than each individual contaminant being investigated.

A new lignan glycoside from Chamaecyparis obtusa var. breviramea f. crippsii.

A new lignan glycoside, (-)-(8S, 8'R)-thujastandin-4-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), together with fourteen known lignanoids (2-15) and one coumarin (16) were isolated from the branches and leaves of Chamaecyparis obtusa var. breviramea f. crippsii. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis. Compound 16 exhibited cytotoxicity against A549, BGC-823 and Hela cell lines with IC50 values of 25.9, 20.9 and 18.5 microM, respectively.