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Background The multi-site practice (MSP) policy has been practiced in China over 10 years. This study aimed to investigate the safety and feasibility of performing laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer (LSCRC) and gastric cancer (LSGC) under the Chinese MSP policy. Methods We collected and analysed the data from 1,081 patients who underwent LSCRC or LSGC performed by one gastrointestinal surgeon in his original hospital (n  = 573) and his MSP institutions (n  = 508) between January 2017 and December 2020. Baseline demographics, intraoperative outcomes, post-operative recovery, and pathological results were compared between the original hospital and MSP institutions, as well as between MSP institutions with and without specific competence (surgical skill, operative instrument, perioperative multi-discipline team). Results In our study, 690 patients underwent LSCRC and 391 patients underwent LSGC. The prevalence of post-operative complications was comparable for LSCRC (11.5% vs 11.1%, P  = 0.89) or LSGC (15.2% vs 12.6%, P  = 0.46) between the original hospital and MSP institutions. However, patients in MSP institutions without qualified surgical assistant(s) and adequate instruments experienced longer operative time and greater intraoperative blood loss. The proportion of patients with inadequate lymph-node yield was significantly higher in MSP institutions than in the original hospital for both LSCRC (11.5% vs 21.2%, P   <  0.01) and LSGC (9.8% vs 20.5%, P   <  0.01). Conclusion For an experienced gastrointestinal surgeon, performing LSCRC and LSGC outside his original hospital under the MSP policy is safe and feasible, but relies on the precondition that the MSP institutions are equipped with qualified surgical skills, adequate operative instruments, and complete perioperative management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Senna tora has been used as a famous traditional medicine both in China and India to treat skin diseases, cough, hepatitis, fever, and hemorrhoids. Here, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of S. tora was reported and characterized for the first time. The cp genome is 162,426 bp in length, with a large single copy (LSC) region of 90,673 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,001 bp separated by a pair of 26,791 bp inverted repeat (IR) regions. There were 130 predicted genes including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes in the genome, and the overall GC content of the genome is 36%. The phylogenetic analysis based on the cp genome data indicated that S. tora was closer to S. occidentalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginkgo biloba leaf is widely used in traditional medicine in China. The present study aimed to illustrate the effects of dietary Ginkgo biloba leaf extract (GBLE) on growth performance and immune responses in common carp infected by Aeromonas hydrophila. Six different diets either not treated (control) or treated with 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 10 g/kg of GBLE were designed to feed the fishes for 8 weeks. The results indicated that, compared to the control groups, 10 g/kg dietary GBLE significantly increased body growth and feed utilization. In GBLE dietary groups, red blood cell levels, white blood cells, hematocrit, hemoglobin, total protein, albumin and globulin were significantly increased relative to the control groups. Dietary supplementation with 5 g/kg GBLE increased the phagocytic ratio, and phagocytic indexes increased in the 2, 5 and 10 g/kg groups relative to the control groups. Moreover, 2, 5 and 10 g/kg GBLE diets increased O 2 − production compared to the control groups. Additionally, GBLE diets stimulated lysozyme activity (in 10 g/kg group) and inhibited bactericidal activity (in 0.5, 2, 5 and 10 g/kg group). Quantitative real-time PCR showed that IL1β, IL8, TNF-α, IL10, TGFβ, and inducible enzyme genes were prone to decrease while SAA, hepcidin and GPX1 were increased due to the GBLE diet in the intestine. In the head-kidney, the GBLE treatment decreased IL1β, IL8, TNF-α, IL10, TGFβ, INOS and arginase gene expressions, whereas SOD upregulation was found in the GBLE condition. The mRNA expressions of IL1β, IL8, TNF-α, IL10 and INOS were decreased, but SAA, hepcidin, GPX1 and SOD mRNA levels were increased in the spleen in the GBLE diet compared to the control. Additionally, diet supplemented with GBLE improved the survival rate infected with A. hydrophila. Our observations suggest that GBLE effectively enhanced growth performance, modulated immune-related gene expression. It improved survival rate of common carp after A. hydrophila infection and the optimum concentration we recommend is 10 g/kg of GBLE. • Dietary 10 g/kg GBLE significantly increased body growth and feed utilization in common carp. • Dietary GBLE stimulated immunity of common carp. • Dietary GBLE affected crucial immune gene expression in common carp. • Diet supplemented with GBLE improved the survival rate of common carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four undescribed compounds including three harzianic acids (1, 3 and 4) and one oxazolidinone (2), along with three known ones (5-7) were isolated from the solid fermented product of endophytic fungus Ilyonectria sp., their structures were elucidated as 1-amino-harzianic acid (1), ilyonectria-oxazolidinone (2),10'-nor- isoharzianic acid (3), isohomoharzianic acid (4), harzianic acid (5), isoharzianic acid (6), homoharzianic acid (7) by means of detailed chemical evidences and spectroscopic data analysis. All the compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity against SMMC-7721 human cancer cell lines by MTS assay. Among the seven tested compounds, 1-amino-harzianic acid (1) demonstrated well cytotoxic activity against SMMC-7721 with IC 50 value of 26.84 μM. The results of molecular docking indicated that compound exhibited moderate anti-tumor activity may through binding to apoptosis related proteins., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

DNA-based ancestry inference has long been a research hot spot in forensic science. The differentiation of Han Chinese population, such as the northern-to-southern substructure, would benefit forensic practice. In the present study, we enrolled participants from northern and southern China, each participant was genotyped at ∼400 K single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and data of CHB and CHS from 1000 Genomes Project were used to perform genome-wide association analyses. Meanwhile, a new method combining genome-wide association study (GWAS) analyses with k-fold cross-validation in a small sample size was introduced. As a result, one SNP rs17822931 emerged with a p-value of 7.51E - 6. We also simulated a huge dataset to verify whether k-fold cross-validation could reduce the false-negative rate of GWAS. The identified ABCC11 rs17822931 has been reported to have allele frequencies varied with the geographical gradient distribution in humans. We also found a great difference in the allele frequency distributions of rs17822931 among five different cohorts of the Chinese population. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that even small-scale GWAS can also have potential to identify effective loci with implemented k-fold cross-validation method and shed light on the potential maker of rs17822931 in differentiating the north-to-south substructure of the Han Chinese population., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: A diversity of microorganisms is associated with human health and exists in a state of dynamic equilibrium. This diversity has direct implications for the assessment of susceptibility to infectious diseases, especially human papillomavirus (HPV) infection., Methods: Here, we investigated the relationships between HPV infection and vaginal, cervical, and gut microbiota composition and assessed the levels of genital immune mediators. We selected a multiethnic area in Yunnan Province, China, to collect samples from healthy women of childbearing age. A total of 82 healthy women of childbearing age were included in this study. Vaginal, cervical, and rectal swabs were collected to analyze the microbial community, and cytokines were analyzed in some samples., Findings: Different proportions and types of HPV infection were detected in cervical (44%), vaginal (18%), and rectal (18%) swabs. HPV detected in cervical swabs was generally a high-risk type, while low-risk HPV types were primarily detected in vaginal and rectal swabs. There were some differences in this proportion as well as in the microbial community composition among different ethnic groups. Rectal samples exhibited the highest diversity index, while vaginal samples displayed the lowest diversity index. Lactobacillus dominated most of the vaginal samples, was decreased in HPV-positive samples, and differed among different ethnic groups. However, the sequence proportion of Lactobacillus in the cervix exhibited the opposite trend in those affected by HPV infection. The dynamic balance between the potential pathogens Gardnerella and Lactobacillus determines the health of the female genital system., Interpretation: This study constitutes the first step toward personalized medicine for women's reproductive health, wherein differences between the genital microbiomes of individuals would be considered in risk assessment and for subsequent disease diagnosis and treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Liu, Xiao, Fang, Dong, Ye, He, Wang, Li, Zhao, Yuan, Zhao, He, Zhang, Yang, Wu and Li.)