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Wen Jun Zhang,* Chong Ling Hu,* Bing Ling Guo, Xi Ping Liang, Chao Yu Wang, Tao Yang Department of Hematology Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tao Yang, Department of Hematology Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, No. 181, Hanyu Road, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400030, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13527363925, Email ppyangtao@163.comObjective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the mechanism by which STAT5B inhibits ferroptosis in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) by promoting DCAF13 transcriptional regulation of p53/xCT pathway.Methods: The correlations between STAT5B, DCAF13 and ferroptosis in MCL were analyzed using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA, http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/index.html). The expression levels and pairwise correlations of STAT5B, DCAF13, p53 and xCT in MCL patients were detected, respectively. STAT5B was silenced to confirm their criticality in MCL ferroptosis. the effects of blocking necrosis, apoptosis and ferroptosis on the anti-MCL effects of STAT5B were examined. Cells with STAT5B overexpression and/or DCAF13 silencing were constructed to confirm the involvement of DCAF13 in the STAT5B-regulated p53/xCT pathway. The regulation of p53 ubiquitination was confirmed by DCAF13 overexpression and MG132. The effects of silencing DCAF13 and MG132 on STAT5B overexpression on MCL was clarified by a tumor-bearing nude mouse model.Results: DCAF13 was overexpressed in MCL and positively correlated with STAT5B, negatively correlated with p53, and positively correlated with xCT. Inhibition of ferroptosis alleviated the inhibitory effects of siSTAT5B on MCL, while inhibition of necrosis and apoptosis had few effects. Silencing of DCAF13 led to the blocking of STAT5B regulation of p53/xCT and ferroptosis. The changes in DCAF13 and the addition of MG132 did not have statistically significant effects on p53 mRNA. Elevation of DCAF13 resulted in downregulation of p53 protein levels, and this inhibition was reversed by MG132. In animal models, the promotion of MCL and the inhibition of ferroptosis by STAT5B. Silencing of DCAF13 blocked STAT5B inhibition of p53 and induction of xCT, GPX4, and GSH.Conclusion: STAT5B suppresses ferroptosis by promoting DCAF13 transcription to regulate p53/xCT pathway to promote MCL progression.Keywords: mantle cell lymphoma, STAT5B, DCAF13, ferroptosis

Icariin has been shown the promising therapeutic potential to treat inflammatory airway diseases, yet its poor lung distribution and retention restrict the clinical applications. To this end, this work aimed to prepare an icariin-phospholipid complex (IPC) formulation for sustained nebulization delivery that enabled excellent inhalability, improved lung exposure and prolonged duration of action. Icariin was found to react with soybean phospholipid to form supramolecular IPC, which was able to self-assemble into nanoparticle suspension. The suspension was stable during steam sterilization and nebulization processes, and its aerosols generated by a commercial nebulizer exhibited excellent aerodynamic properties and delivery efficiency. In vitro studies showed that the formation of complex sustained drug release, enhanced lung affinity and slowed lung clearance. The drug distribution in lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF) also demonstrated in vivo sustained release after intratracheal administration to mice. In addition, compared to free icariin, IPC improved the drug exposure to lung tissues and immune cells in the ELF by 4.61-fold and 39.5-fold, respectively. This resulted in improved and prolonged local anti-inflammatory effects up to 24 h in mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury. Moreover, IPC improved survival rate of mice with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Overall, the present phospholipid complex represented a promising formulation of icariin for the treatment of acute lung injury/ARDS by nebulization delivery., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The precise assessment and management of the axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer is crucial for regional control, disease staging, selection of adjuvant chemotherapy strategies, and prediction of prognosis, with a general downward trend in surgical management. For early breast cancer with negative axillary lymph node metastases, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has replaced axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) as the criterion for axillary status measurement. Patients can be exempted from ALND if they have negative SLNB results. However, it remains to be carefully decided in China whether patients with one or two positive nodes in SLNB can be spared from ALND. However, consensus has been met that patients who meet the criteria of the Z0011 study can be exempted from ALND. For breast cancer patients with positive axillary lymph nodes metastases at the beginning of treatment, the clearance of lymph node disease can be achieved by neoadjuvant therapy, with a reduced rate of complications related to ALND. In particular, there are still many debates associated with SLNB after neoadjuvant therapy, such as whether patients who remain axillary lymph node positive can be spared from ALND. Exploratory and validation studies related to the SLNB avoidance criteria are still controversial. In the future, clinicians should consider the characteristics of patients, the risk of recurrence, and adjuvant treatment regimens to develop individualized axillary lymph node management.

Phytochemical investigation of Gynostemma pentaphyllum led to the purification of five novel dammarane-type triterpene isolates, gypenosides B1 - B5 ( 1 - 5 ). Their structures were determined through comprehensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses and HRESIMS data. Of note, 1-3 are inseparable mixtures of epimers due to their unstable nature, and a total of eight dammarane-type triterpene saponins were identified. Additionally, the protective activities of these new compounds against PC12 cell injury induced by hypoxia were evaluated.

No systematic research has been reported on the correlation between different ecological factors and the effective component content, flower, and leaf traits of Epimedium pubescens. In this study, 21 kinds of E. pubescens in different regions were investigated, and the content of two effective components of icariin(I) and Epimedin C(C), as well as six leaf traits and 12 flower traits were determined. The correlation between 11 ecological factors and the above traits in different regions for five consecutive years was explored. The results showed that no significant correlation was observed between the ecological factors and the total content of two effective components(I+C) of E. pubescens. Latitude and temperature(including annual average temperature, annual average minimum temperature, and soil temperature of each soil layer) were significantly positively and negatively correlated with the ratio of the content of the two effective components(C/I)(P<0.01), respectively. There was a significant correlation between ecological factors and flower traits, and the annual average soil temperature of each soil layer, annual average temperature, and annual average minimum temperature were significantly correlated with most flower traits in multiple years(P<0.01). However, a weak correlation between ecological factors and leaf traits was detected. A significant positive correlation of the annual average soil temperature of each soil layer and annual average humidity(P<0.01) with the width of nutrient leaf in only a few years was detected. Therefore, it was concluded that the total content of effective components of E. pubescens was determined by genetics, with a slight influence of ecological factors. The annual average temperature, annual average minimum temperature, and soil temperature of each soil layer were the ecological factors that had the most significant impact on flower traits, which showed significant differences in different regions, and similar results were not found in leaf traits. Overall, this study systematically conducted a correlation analysis between ecological factors and the effective components, as well as flower and leaf traits, providing guidance for the quality improvement, introduction, and domestication of E. pubescens.

Acidic postconditioning by transient CO 2 inhalation applied within minutes after reperfusion has neuroprotective effects in the acute phase of stroke. However, the effects of delayed chronic acidic postconditioning (DCAPC) initiated during the subacute phase of stroke or other acute brain injuries are unknown. Mice received daily DCAPC by inhaling 5%/10%/20% CO 2 for various durations (three cycles of 10- or 20-min CO 2 inhalation/10-min break) at days 3-7, 7-21, or 3-21 after photothrombotic stroke. Grid-walk, cylinder, and gait tests were used to assess motor function. DCAPC with all CO 2 concentrations significantly promoted motor functional recovery, even when DCAPC was delayed for 3-7 days. DCAPC enhanced the puncta density of GAP-43 (a marker of axon growth and regeneration) and synaptophysin (a marker of synaptogenesis) and reduced the amoeboid microglia number, glial scar thickness and mRNA expression of CD16 and CD32 (markers of proinflammatory M1 microglia) compared with those of the stroke group. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) increased in response to DCAPC. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of TDAG8 (a proton-activated G-protein-coupled receptor) was increased during the subacute phase of stroke, while DCAPC effects were blocked by systemic knockout of TDAG8, except for those on CBF. DCAPC reproduced the benefits by re-expressing TDAG8 in the peri-infarct cortex of TDAG8-/- mice infected with HBAAV2/9-CMV-TDAG8-3flag-ZsGreen. Taken together, we first showed that DCAPC promoted functional recovery and brain tissue repair after stroke with a wide therapeutic time window of at least 7 days after stroke. Brain-derived TDAG8 is a direct target of DCAPC that induces neuroreparative effects., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is widely recognized as a globally prevalent malignancy. Immunotherapy is a promising therapy for HCC patients. Increasing evidence suggests that lncRNAs are involved in HCC progression and immunotherapy., Aim: The study reveals the mechanistic role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) FOXD1-AS1 in regulating migration, invasion, circulating tumor cells (CTCs), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and immune escape in HCC in vitro., Methods: This study employed real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) to measure FOXD1-AS1, miR-615-3p, and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). The interactions of FOXD1-AS1, miR-615-3p, and PD-L1 were validated via dual-luciferase reporter gene and ribonucleoprotein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. In vivo experimentation involves BALB/c mice and BALB/c nude mice to investigate the impact of HCC metastasis., Results: The upregulation of lncRNA FOXD1-AS1 in malignant tissues significantly correlates with poor prognosis. The investigation was implemented on the impact of lncRNA FOXD1-AS1 on the migratory, invasive, and EMT of HCC cells. It has been observed that the lncRNA FOXD1-AS1 significantly influences the generation and metastasis of M CTC in vivo analysis. In mechanistic analysis, lncRNA FOXD1-AS1 enhanced immune escape in HCC via upregulation of PD-L1, which acted as a ceRNA by sequestering miR-615-3p. Additionally, lncRNA FOXD1-AS1 was found to modulate the EMT of CTCs through the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway., Conclusion: This study presents compelling evidence supporting the role of lncRNA FOXD1-AS1 as a miRNA sponge that sequesters miR-655-3p and protects PD-L1 from suppression., (© 2024 The Authors. Cancer Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

East Asia is the richest region of plant biodiversity in the northern temperate zone, and its radiation provides key insights for understanding rapid speciation, including evolutionary patterns and processes. However, it is challenging to investigate the recent evolutionary radiation among plants because of the lack of genetic divergence, phenotypic convergence, and interspecific gene flow. Epimedium sect. Diphyllon is a rarely studied plant lineage endemic to East Asia, especially highly diversified in its southern part. In this study, we report a robust phylogenomic analysis based on genotyping-by-sequencing data of this lineage. The results revealed a clear biogeographic pattern for Epimedium sect. Diphyllon with recognition into two major clades corresponding to the Sino-Himalayan and Sino-Japanese subkingdoms of East Asian Flora and rapid diversification of the extant species dated to the Pleistocene. Evolutionary radiation of Epimedium sect. Diphyllon is characterized by recent and predominant parallel evolution and atavism between the two subkingdom regions, with extensive reticulating hybridization within each region during the course of diversification in southern East Asia. A parallel-atavism-introgression hypothesis is referred to in explaining the radiation of plant diversity in southern East Asia, which represents a potential model for the rapid diversification of plants under global climate cooling in the late Tertiary. Our study advances our understanding of the evolutionary processes of plant radiation in East Asia as well as in other biodiversity hotspot regions., 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 © 2023 Zhang, Meng, Meng, Guo, Liu and Nie.)

The aim of this study was to clarify the response characteristics of Chinese cabbage pakchoi ( Brassica chinensis L.) under two particle size (100 nm and 1000 nm) polystyrene microplastic (PS-MPs) stress conditions. This study can provide a theoretical basis and experimental reference for the interpretation of the physiological and ecological mechanism of microplastic pollution and the bioremediation of microplastic-contaminated soil. Hydroponic experiments were carried out to study the effects of two particle sizes (100 nm and 1000 nm) of PS-MPs on growth, photosynthetic physiology, antioxidant enzyme activities, nutritional quality, anatomical structure, and canopy temperature in Chinese cabbage pakchoi. The results showed that PS-MPs stress significantly inhibited the growth and development of Chinese cabbage pakchoi. When PS-MPs stress was increased, the phenotypic indicators were significantly reduced. Meanwhile, PS-MPs stress significantly enhanced the oxidative stress response of Chinese cabbage pakchoi, such as the activities of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in leaves. Such a change tended to decrease the thickness of fenestrated and leaf and spongy tissues. Moreover, PS-MPs stress significantly increased the canopy population temperature of the Chinese cabbage pakchoi leaves. Microplastic stress had obvious inhibitory effects and toxic damage on the growth, development, and physical and chemical properties of Chinese cabbage pakchoi.

The adult cortex has long been regarded as non-neurogenic. Whether injury can induce neurogenesis in the adult cortex is still controversial. Here, we report that focal ischemia stimulates a transient wave of local neurogenesis. Using 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine labeling, we demonstrated a rapid generation of doublecortin-positive neuroblasts that died quickly in mouse cerebral cortex following ischemia. Nestin-Cre ER -based cell ablation and fate mapping showed a small contribution of neuroblasts by subventricular zone neural stem cells. Using a mini-photothrombotic ischemia mouse model and retrovirus expressing green fluorescent protein labeling, we observed maturation of locally generated new neurons. Furthermore, fate tracing analyses using PDGFRα-, GFAP-, and Sox2-Cre ER mice showed a transient wave of neuroblast generation in mild ischemic cortex and identified that Sox2-positive astrocytes were the major neurogenic cells in adult cortex. In addition, a similar upregulation of Sox2 and appearance of neuroblasts were observed in the focal ischemic cortex of Macaca mulatta. Our findings demonstrated a transient neurogenic response of Sox2-positive astrocytes in ischemic cortex, which suggests the possibility of inducing neuronal regeneration by amplifying this intrinsic response in the future., Competing Interests: None

Gypenosides (Gps) are the major bioactive components in Gynostemma species. They include neutral Gps and acidic malonylgypenosides (MGps). MGps are abundant in Gynostemma species and can be transformed into corresponding Gps via extraction, concentration, and drying. If only the Gps were quantified and MGps were ignored, the quality of Gynostemma species would be underestimated. This study aimed to develop a sample preparation method involving demalonylation and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-charged aerosol detector (UHPLC-CAD) analysis to determine the contents of gypenoside XLIX (Gp XLIX) and gypenoside A (Gp A). First, the optimized ultrasonic extraction method was established to extract G. longipes powder ultrasonically. Then, the extracted solution was put into a closed container (centrifuge tube) and heated in a water bath at 95 °C. Then, MGps were converted into corresponding Gps. The proposed preparation method was compared with the other three methods, including water bath reflux heating, alkali hydrolysis, and extraction of heated powder, and was shown to exhibit higher conversion and better convenience. Subsequently, an UHPLC-CAD method was established and validated. Gp XLIX and Gp A showed excellent linear correlations between 15.55 and 248.8 μg/mL and 24.10-385.5 μg/mL, respectively (R 2 > 0.999). The limit of detection was 1.40 ng (Gp XLIX) and 2.41 ng (Gp A), and the limit of quantification was 7.77 ng and 14.46 ng, respectively. The relative standard deviation for precision, stability, and repeatability was 0.63-3.15%. The average recovery of Gp XLIX and Gp A was 98.97% and 98.23%, respectively. The established method was applied for determining Gp XLIX and Gp A contents in wild or cultivated G. longipes samples collected from the Qinba Mountains area. The contents of Gp XLIX and Gp A were 5.16-23.02 mg/g and 15.78-54.55 mg/g, respectively. Conclusively, the proposed sample preparation and analysis method could be used for the quality control and evaluation of G. longipes., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Valvular heart disease (VHD) is a common clinical condition in geriatric-related cardiovascular diseases that is connected to heart dysfunction. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arrhythmia. Considering these two common clinical conditions, so far no sufficient data on the relationship between degenerative VHD and non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). We aimed to explore the relationship between valvular structure and biochemistry of nonvalvular AF and degenerative valvular heart disease in the elderly., Methods: In our study, 234 VHD patients who were diagnosis evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography were enrolled in this retrospective study from January 2015 and December 2018. Significant valvular diseases were defined according to ACC/AHA Classification as any moderate or severe mitral regurgitation (MR), aortic regurgitation (AR), tricuspid stenosis, regurgitation, or aortic stenosis (AS). Data on relevant laboratory indicators were also collected., Results: A total of 234 patients with degenerative VHD were enrolled, of whom 81 had NVAF and 153 had sinus rhythm. Gender, smoking history, and some comorbidities, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, and renal dysfunction, did not differ significantly between the two groups, but there were significant differences in age and hypertension {79 [74-83] vs. 70 [65-79] years} After propensity-score matching (PSM), we identified 68 VHD patients with NVAF and 68 VHD patients without NVAF. The NVAF + VHD had higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (2.94±0.84 vs. 2.26±1.33 mmol/L, P=0.001), lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol [1.03 (0.89-1.34) vs. 1.56 (0.99-2.71) mmol/L, P<0.001], and higher uric acid (UA) (438.18±145.83 vs. 376.67±148.03 µmol/L, P=0.02) than the VHD group. The ejection fraction (EF) of the NVAF + VHD group was lower than that of the VHD group {63 [51-68] vs. 66 [62-69], P=0.013}. In addition, the left atrial size, MR, and calcification of the NVAF + VHD group were higher than those of the VHD group., Conclusions: Pronounced MR, valve calcification and hyperlipidemia were more likely in VHD patients with NVAF. These structures and biomarkers changes maybe important clinical parameters for disease prevention and management, which indicate early drug intervention to AF and hyperlipidemia is necessary., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-23-61/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.)

Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important cereal crops and is consumed as a staple food around the globe. Wheat authentication has become a crucial issue over the last decades. Recently, many techniques have been applied in wheat authentication including the authentication of wheat geographical origin, wheat variety, organic wheat, and wheat flour from other cereals. This paper collected related literature in the last ten years, and attempted to highlight the recent studies on the discrimination and authentication of wheat using different determination techniques and chemometric methods. The stable isotope analysis and elemental profile of wheat are promising tools to obtain information regarding the origin, and variety, and to differentiate organic from conventional farming of wheat. Image analysis, genetic parameters, and omics analysis can provide solutions for wheat variety, organic wheat, and wheat adulteration. Vibrational spectroscopy analyses, such as NIR, FTIR, and HIS, in combination with multivariate data analysis methods, such as PCA, LDA, and PLS-DA, show great potential in wheat authenticity and offer many advantages such as user-friendly, cost-effective, time-saving, and environment friendly. In conclusion, analytical techniques combining with appropriate multivariate analysis are very effective to discriminate geographical origin, cultivar classification, and adulterant detection of wheat.

Sprouts are recognized as nutritional and functional vegetables. In this study, 17 selected seeds were germinated simultaneously. The antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content (TPC) were determined for seeds and sprouts of all species. Both seed and sprout of white radish, with the highest antioxidant capacity, and TPC among all the 17 species, were further determined for phenolic metabolomics. Four phenolic classes with 316 phenolic metabolites were identified. 198 significantly different metabolites with 146 up-regulated and 52 down-regulated were confirmed, and high amounts of phenolic acids and flavonoids were found to be accumulated in the sprout. Several metabolism and biosynthesis, including phenylpropanoid, favone and flavonol, phenylalanine, and various secondary metabolites, were significantly activated. Significant correlations were found among FRAP, DPPH, ABTS, TPC, and phenolic profiles. Therefore, white radish sprout could be served as antioxidant and could be a good source of dietary polyphenols., 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, Liu, Li, Ge, Geng, He, Xia, Guo and Gan.)

Epimedii Folium is a well-known Chinese herbal medicine with the effect of nourishing kidney and strengthening Yang. Its main active ingredients are flavonoids. In this study, 60 samples of Epimedium sagittatum were collected for the determination of total flavonoids(TF) including the total amount of epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, and icariin(abbreviated as ABCI) specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as well as rhamnosylicariside Ⅱ and icariside Ⅱ. The calibration parameters of &quot;first derivativemultiva-riate scattering correction in 1 900-650 cm~(-1) band(4-point smoothing)&quot; and &quot;first derivativestandard normal variable correction in 4 000-650 cm~(-1) full band(4-point smoothing)&quot; were confirmed respectively. The quantitative model was established via Fourier infrared spectroscopy plus attenuated total reflection(FTIR-ATR) accessory combined with partial least squares(PLS) method and then used to predict the flavonoid content of 11 validation sets. The average prediction accuracy for ABCI in calibration set and validation set was 98.985% and 96.087%, respectively. The average prediction accuracy for TF in calibration set and validation set was 98.998% and 94.771%, respectively. These results indicated that FTIR-ATR combined with PLS model could be used for rapid prediction of flavonoid content in E. sagittatum, with the prediction accuracy above 94.7%. The establishment of this method provides a new solution for the detection of a large number of E. sagittatum samples.

Introduction: Harvest time plays an important role on the quality of medicinal plants. The leaves of Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var major N.E.Br (hawthorn leaves) could be harvested in summer and autumn according to the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (Pharmacopoeia). However, little is known about the difference of the chemical constituents in hawthorn leaves with the harvest seasonal variations., Objective: The chemical constituents of hawthorn leaves in different months were comprehensively analysed to determine the best harvest time., Methods: Initially, the chemical information of the hawthorn leaves were obtained by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Subsequently, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to compare the chemical compositions of hawthorn leaves harvested in different months. Then, an absolute quantitation method was established using high-performance liquid chromatography-charged aerosol detector (HPLC-CAD) to determine the contents of five compounds and clarify the changes of these components with the harvest seasonal variations. Meanwhile, a semi-quantitative method by integrating HPLC-CAD with inverse gradient compensation was also established and verified., Results: Fifty-eight compounds were identified through UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS. PCA revealed that the harvest season of hawthorn leaves had a significant effect on the chemical compositions. The contents of five components were relatively high in autumn. Other four main components without reference standards were further analysed through the semi-quantitative method, which also showed a high content in autumn., Conclusions: This work emphasised the effect of harvest time on the chemical constituents of hawthorn leaves and autumn is recommended to ensure the quality., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Six new prenylated flavonoid glycosides, including four new furan-flavonoid glycosides wushepimedoside A-D (1-4) and two new prenyl flavonoid derivatives wushepimedoside E-F (5-6), and one know analog epimedkoreside B (7) were isolated from biotransformation products of the aerial parts of Epimedium wushanense. Their structures were elucidated according to comprehensive analysis of HR-MS and NMR spectroscopic data, and the absolute configurations were assigned using experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. The regulatory activity of compounds 1-7 on the production of testosterone in primary rat Leydig cells were investigated, and 4 and 5 exhibited testosterone production-promoting activities. Molecular docking analysis suggested that bioactive compounds 4 and 5 showed the stable binding with 3β-HSD and 4 also had good affinity with Cyp17A1, which suggested that these compounds may regulate testosterone production through stimulating the expression of the above two key proteins., (Copyright © 2022 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the clinical efficacy of the intervention of thumbtack needles (applicable to subcutaneous embedding) combined with Chinese medicine ironing therapy on postoperation nausea and vomiting (PONV)., Methods: 106 patients who scheduled elective surgery were enrolled and randomized into control group and experimental group, with 53 cases in each group. The control group received modern medication, while the experimental group was given thumbtack needles combined with Chinese medicine ironing therapy based on the control group. The PONV score, incidence rate, gastrointestinal hormone level, Functional Living Index-Emesis (FLIE), and General Comfort Questionnaire (GCQ) of the two groups were compared., Results: After treatment, the incidence of PONV and GCQ in the experimental group was observed to be remarkably lower than that in the control group ( P < 0.05), while the levels of gastrointestinal hormones and the level in the FLIE of the experimental group were comparatively higher than those in the control group ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Thumbtack needles combined with Chinese medicine ironing therapy can be utilized to reduce the incidence of PONV, to improve the level of gastrointestinal hormones, and to improve the comfort and quality of patients' lives., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Bao-Lian Guo and Fang-Ping Lou.)

In this study, 10 PA-type Perilla germplasms were selected to detect the content of two phenolic acids, i.e., rosmarinic acid(RA) and caffeic acid(CA), and six flavonoids, including scutellarin-7-O-diglucuronoside(SDG), luteolin-7-O-diglucuronoside(LDG), apigenin-7-O-diglucuronoside(ADG), scutellarin-7-O-glucuroside(SG), luteolin-7-O-glucuroside(LG), and apigenin-7-O-glucuroside(AG) in leaves, stems, and fruits. The total content of phenolic acids and flavonoids in leaves was 3.991-12.028 mg·g~(-1) and 12.309-25.071 mg·g~(-1), respectively, which was much higher than that in stems(0.586-2.015 mg·g~(-1) and 0.879-1.413 mg·g~(-1), respectively) and fruits(0.004-2.222 mg·g~(-1) and 0.651-1.936 mg·g~(-1), respectively). RA was detected in five fruit samples, and RA content between leaves and fruits showed a significant negative correlation in the other five samples. For flavonoids, only LG and LDG could be detected in stems, and SG and SDG were not detected in fruits, while other flavonoids were not detected in some samples. The content of total flavonoids and LG in leaves and fruits was significantly positively correlated, and the content of LG in stems and fruits was significantly positively correlated. In 10 stem samples, seven met the standard that the content of RA in the stem should be not less than 0.1% specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition). Only one fruit sample reached the standard of RA content in the fruit not less than 0.25% specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

Objective: This study aimed to look into the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) -associated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) . Methods: Retrospective review of the clinical data of 63 HIV-infected patients with DLBCL diagnosed at Chongqing University Cancer Hospital between July 2008 and August 2021. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival curves, and the log-rank test method was used to compare survival between groups. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis. Results: In 63 patients with HIV-associated DLBCL, 57 (90.5% ) were men, and the median age was 49 (23-87) years. The most common pathological subtype was the germinal center B-cell-like lymphoma (74.6% ) ; 46.0% (29/63) were combined with extranodal lesions. Seventeen of 63 (27.0% ) patients had large masses (≥7.5 cm) . Twenty of 63 (31.7% ) patients had B symptoms. The median CD4(+) T cell count was 203 (4-1022) ×10(6)/L. A total of 49% (25/51) patients had CD4(+) cell count <200×10(6)/L, 56.9% (33/58) had high (3-5) International Prognostic Index (IPI) scores, and 43.1% (25/58) had low (0-2) IPI scores. Further, 78% (46/59) were diagnosed with Ann Arbor Stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ, and 25.4% (16/63) didn't receive chemotherapy. A total of 22.2% (14/63) of patients received less than four cycles of chemotherapy, and 52.4% (33/63) received four or more cycles of chemotherapy. Among patients undergoing chemotherapy, 61.7% (29/47) received R-CHOP-like regimens, and 38.3% (18/47) used CHOP-like regimens. The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 65.0% , 53.8% , 47.1% , and 43.5% , respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that age ≥ 60 years ( P =0.012) , Eastern Cooperative Oncology Gruop Performance Status (ECOG-PS) score 2-4 points ( P =0.043) , IPI score 3-5 points ( P =0.001) , β(2)-MG elevation (≥5.5 mg/L) ( P =0.007) , and systemic chemotherapy cycles less than four times ( P <0.001) were the negative prognostic factors affecting the OS of patients. The Cox multivariate analysis depicted that age ≥60 years ( HR =2.272, 95% CI 1.110-4.651, P =0.025) , IPI score 3-5 points ( HR =3.562, 95% CI 1.794-7.074, P <0.001) , ECOG-PS score 2-4 points ( HR =2.675, 95% CI 1.162-6.153, P =0.021) , and number of cycles of chemotherapy<4 ( HR =0.290, 95% CI 0.176-0.479, P <0.001) were independent risk factors for adverse prognosis of OS. Conclusion: HIV-associated DLBCL is the most common HIV-related tumor, is most commonly seen in men, and has a high 1-year mortality rate. Chemotherapy combined with antiretroviral therapy can improve patient prognosis.

Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a common non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The development of immunotherapy greatly improves the patient prognosis but there are some exceptions. Thus, screening for better biomarkers for prognostic evaluation could contribute to the treatment of DLBCL patients., Aim: To screen the novel mediators involved in the development of DLBCL., Methods: The GSE60 dataset was applied to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DLBCL, and the principal components analysis plot was used to determine the quality of the included samples. The protein-protein interactions were analyzed by the STRING tool. The key hub genes were entered into to the GEPIA database to determine their expressions in DLBCL. Furthermore, these hub gene alterations were analyzed in cBioportal. The UALCAN portal was employed to analyze the expression of the hub genes in different stages of DLBCL. The Estimation of Stromal and Immune cells in Malignant Tumor tissues using Expression data Score was conducted to evaluate the correlation between the gene expression and tumor purity. The gene-gene correlation analysis was conducted in the GEPIA. The stromal score analysis was conducted in TIMER to confirm the correlation between the gene expression and infiltrated stromal cells. The correlation between the indicated genes and infiltration level of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) was also completed in TIMER with two methods, MCP-Counter and Tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion. The correlation between fibronectin (FN1) protein level and secreted protein acidic and cysteine-rich (SPARC) messenger ribonucleic acid expression was confirmed in the cBioportal., Results: The top 20 DEGs in DLBCL were identified, and the principal components analysis plot confirmed the quality of the significant DEGs. The pairwise correlation coefficient analysis among all samples showed that these DEGs have a certain co-expression pattern. The DEGs were subjected to STRING to identify the hub genes, alpha-2-macroglobulin ( A2M ), cathepsin B ( CTSB ), FN1 , matrix metallopeptidase 9 ( MMP9 ), and SPARC . The five hub genes were confirmed to be overexpressed in DLBCL. The cBioportal portal detected these five hub genes that had gene alteration, including messenger ribonucleic acid high amplification and missense mutation, and the gene alteration percentages of A2M , FN1 , CTSB , MMP9 , and SPARC were 5%, 8%, 5%, 2.7%, and 5%, respectively. Furthermore, the five hub genes had a potential positive correlation with tumor stage. The correlation analysis between the five genes and tumor purity confirmed that the five genes were overexpressed in DLBCL and had a positive correlation with the development of DLBCL. More interestingly, the five genes had a significant correlation with the stromal infiltration scores. The correlation analysis between the fives genes and CAFs also showed a significant value, among which the top two genes, FN1 and SPARC , had a remarkable co-expression pattern., Conclusion: The top DEGs were identified, and the five hub genes were overexpressed in DLBCL. Furthermore, the gene alterations were confirmed and the positive correlation with tumor purity revealed the overexpression of the five genes and close association with the development of DLBCL. More interestingly, the five genes were positively correlated with stromal infiltration, especially in CAFs. The top two genes, FN1 and SPARC , showed a co-expression pattern, which indicates their potential as novel therapeutic targets for DLBCL., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare having no conflict of interests., (©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although de novo stage IV breast cancer is so far incurable, it has entered an era of individualized treatment and chronic disease management. Based on systemic treatment, whether the surgical resection of primary or metastatic foci of de novo stage IV breast cancer can bring survival benefits is currently controversial. We aimed to explore the clinicopathological factors and current status of the management of de novo stage IV breast cancer in China to provide a reference for clinical decisions., Methods: Based on the assistance of Chinese Society of Breast Surgery, a retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of patients with de novo stage IV breast cancer in 33 centers from January 2017 to December 2018. The relationship between basic characteristic (age, menstrual status, family history, reproductive history, pathological type, estrogen receptor [ER] status, progesterone receptor [PR] status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2] status, Ki-67 percentage, and molecular subtype), and metastasis sites (lung metastasis, liver metastasis, and bone metastasis) was examined by Pearson Chi-square tests., Results: A total of 468 patients with de novo stage IV breast cancer were enrolled. The median age of the enrolled patients was 51.5 years. The most common pathological type of primary lesion was invasive carcinoma (97.1%). Luminal A, luminal B, HER2 overexpressing, and triple-negative subtypes accounted for 14.3%, 51.8%, 22.1%, and 11.8% of all cases, respectively. Age, PR status, and HER2 status were correlated with lung metastasis (χ2 = 6.576, 4.117, and 8.643 and P = 0.037, 0.043, and 0.003, respectively). Pathological type, ER status, PR status, and molecular subtype were correlated with bone metastasis (χ2 = 5.117, 37.511, 5.224, and 11.603 and P = 0.024, <0.001, 0.022, and 0.009, respectively). Age, PR status, HER2 status, Ki-67 percentage, and molecular subtype were correlated with liver metastasis (χ2 = 11.153, 13.378, 10.692, 21.206, and 17.684 and P = 0.004, <0.001, 0.001, <0.001, and 0.001, respectively). Combined treatment with paclitaxel and anthracycline was the most common first-line chemotherapy regimen for patients with de novo stage IV breast cancer (51.7%). Overall, 91.5% of patients used paclitaxel-containing regimens. Moreover, 59.3% of hormone receptor-positive patients underwent endocrine therapy., Conclusions: In 2018, 1.07% of patients from all studied centers were diagnosed with de novo stage IV breast cancer. This study indicated that 95.1% of patients received systemic therapy and 54.2% of patients underwent surgical removal of the primary lesion in China., (Copyright © 2021 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

Effect of rhizobial inoculation and nitrate application on the content of bioactive compounds in legume plants is an interesting aspect for interactions among microbes, plants and chemical fertilizers, as well as for cultivated practice of legumes. In this study, nitrate (0, 5 and 20 mmol l -1 ) and Bradyrhizobium arachidis strain CCBAU 051107 T were applied, individually or in combination, to the root rhizosphere of the medicinal legume Sophora flavescens Aiton (SFA). Then the plant growth, nodulation and active ingredients including (oxy)matrine of SFA were determined and compared. Rhizobial inoculation alone significantly increased the numbers and fresh weight of root nodules. Nodulation was significantly inhibited due to nitrate (5 and 20 mmol l -1 ). Only oxymatrine was detected in the control plants without rhizobial inoculation and nitrate supplement, while both oxymatrine and matrine were synthesized in plants treated with inoculation of B. arachidis or supplied with nitrate. The content of oxymatrine was the highest in plants inoculated solely with rhizobia and was not significantly altered by additional application of nitrate. Combinations of B. arachidis inoculation and different concentrations of nitrate did not significantly change the concentrations of (oxy)matrine in the plant. In conclusion, sole rhizobial inoculation was the best approach to increase the contents of key active ingredients oxymatrine and matrine in the medicinal legume SFA., (© 2021 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Steroidal saponins were the main active constituents of the traditional medicinal herb Asparagus cochinchinensis . A phytochemical investigation of A. cochinchinensis roots led to the isolation of nine new steroidal glycosides ( 1-9 ) and seven known analogues ( 10 - 16 ). Their structures were established by spectroscopic analyses as well as necessary chemical evidence.

A method was established for content determination of two kinds of phenolic acids, including rosmarinic acid)(RA) and caffeic acid(CA), and six kinds of flavonoids including scutellarein-7-O-diglucuronide(SDG), luteolin-7-O-diglucuronide(LDG), apigenin-7-O-diglucuronide(ADG), scutellarin-7-O-glucuronide(SG), luteolin-7-O-glucuronide(LG), and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide(AG) in Perilla frutescens leaves. The content of eight chemical components was measured based on ten P. frutescens germplasms of different chemotypes of volatile oil, different cultivated years, and different harvesting periods. The results showed that there was a great difference between the two kinds of constituents of different germplasms. The total content of the two phenolic acids was 2.24-34.44 mg·g~(-1), and the total content of the six flavonoids was 11.55-34.71 mg·g~(-1). Then according to content from most to least, the order of each component was RA(2.13-33.97 mg·g~(-1)), LDG(1.31-14.80 mg·g~(-1)), SG(1.97-8.45 mg·g~(-1)), ADG(2.68-7.60 mg·g~(-1)), SDG(1.16-5.87 mg·g~(-1)), LG(0.78-1.91 mg·g~(-1)), AG(0.56-1.00 mg·g~(-1)), and CA(0.11-0.68 mg·g~(-1)). The chemical contents of the 5 PA-type germplasms in 2017 were mostly higher than those in 2018 showing a large variation with the cultivation years. These contents of two kinds of phenolic acids of 9 germplasms fluctuated with the harvesting time. The content decreased before early flower spike(the 3~(rd) to 18~(th) in August) at first and began to increase in flowering and fruiting period(the 18~(th) in August to 2~(nd) in September). However, these contents had slowly decreasing trend after 2~(nd) in September till 17~(th) in the same month. Interestingly, the content raised again in the maturity of fruits. The variation tendency of contents in six kinds of flavonoids components was inconsistent in different germplasms with the variation of harvesting time. The content of flavonoids in part of germplasms was negatively correlated with the fluctuation of phenolic acids. There was no correlation between phenolic acids and chemical type of the volatile oil. This paper may provide a reference for the high-quality germplasm of P. frutescens cultivation.

The Qinling-Daba Mountains area is the main producing areas of Gynostemma longipes for medicinal usage, and samples of wild whole plants in Pingli, Shaanxi Province and Qingchuan, Sichuan Province were collected. The ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS~E) was used to profile the chemical compositions and analyze the similarities and differences of G. longipes samples in these areas. Based on the accurate molecular weight and fragment information obtained from Q-TOF-MS~E, the structures of the main components were identified by combining with the mass spectra, chromatographic behaviors of reference standards and related literatures. The results showed that the components of wild G. longipes from different places among Qinling-Daba Mountains area were similar. Forty-five chemical components were identified in the whole plant of G. longipes from Pingli, Shaanxi Province, including 43 triterpenoid saponins and 2 flavonoids which contain all main peaks in its fingerprint. The main components are dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins, such asgypenoside ⅩLⅨ, gypenoside A and its malonylated product of glycosyl.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the available P (aP) release of Smizyme TS G5 2,500 (Origination, LLC., Maplewood, MN) phytase. Pigs were weaned at approximately 21-d of age, randomly allotted to pens based on initial body weight (BW) and fed a common diet. On d 21 post-weaning, pens were blocked by BW and randomly allotted to 1 of 8 (experiment 1) or 7 (experiment 2) dietary treatments with five pigs per pen and eight pens per treatment. Treatments were formulated to include increasing aP from either inorganic P (0.12%, 0.18%, or 0.24% in experiment 1 and 0.11%, 0.19%, or 0.27% in experiment 2 from monocalcium P) or increasing phytase (150, 250, 500, 750, or 1,000 FTU/kg in experiment 1 and 250, 500, 1,000, or 1,500 FTU/kg in experiment 2). Prior to beginning the 21-d studies, all pigs were fed the lowest inorganic P diet for a 3-d period. At the conclusion of each experiment, the pig closest to the pen mean BW was euthanized and fibulas were collected to determine bone ash weight and percentage bone ash. Fibulas were processed using defatted bone mineral procedures. In both experiments, pigs fed increasing aP from inorganic P had increased (linear, P < 0.01) average daily gain (ADG), G:F, and final BW. Additionally, pigs fed diets with increasing phytase had increased (experiment 1 linear, P < 0.01; experiment 2 linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) performance across all growth response criteria. For bone composition, pigs fed increasing aP from inorganic P had increased bone ash weights (linear, P < 0.01) and percentage bone ash (experiment 1 quadratic, P < 0.01; experiment 2 linear, P < 0.01). Similarly, pigs fed increasing phytase had increased bone ash weights (linear, P < 0.01) and percentage bone ash (experiment 1 linear, P < 0.01; experiment 2 linear and quadratic, P < 0.05). The percentage aP released from Smizyme TS G5 2,500 for both experiments varied depending on the response criteria used. As the amount of phytase in the diet increased, the calculated aP release increased when ADG (experiment 1 linear, P < 0.01; experiment 2 linear and quadratic, P < 0.01), G:F (linear, P < 0.01), or percentage bone ash (experiment 1 linear and quadratic, P < 0.05; experiment 2 linear, P < 0.01) were used the predictor variable. When combining the data from experiment 1 and 2, the aP release prediction equations for Smizyme TS G5 2,500 are aP = (0.197 × FTU)/(584.956 + FTU), aP = (0.175 × FTU)/(248.348 + FTU), and aP = (0.165 × FTU)/(178.146 + FTU) when using ADG, G:F, and percentage bone ash, respectively as the predictor variable., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

In this study, the growth index including plant height, compound leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf water content, number of branches, and leaf biomass per plant and the icariin flavonoids such as epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C and icariin of Epimedium pseudowushanense were determined on 30 d and 60 d under light intensity(18.2±2.5) μmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1)(L1) and(90.9 ±2.5) μmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1)(L2), and white light as control, red light, blue light and yellow light were used as three light quality treatments, to study the effect of light quality on the growth and flavonoids accumulation of E. pseudowushanense. The E. pseudowushanense was sui-table for growth under L1 light intensity, the blue light treatment significantly reduced the leaf area, but had little effect on the stem height, the red light treatment and the yellow light treatment had no obvious effect on the stem height and leaf area, but the yellow light treatment significantly increased the germination of new branches, and had a sustained promoting effect, and the biomass was significantly higher than the white light treatment at 60 d. The content of icariin flavonoids in red light, blue light and yellow light treatment was higher than that in white light treatment at 30 d and 60 d under L1 light intensity, while yellow light treatment promoted the synthesis of icariin flavonoids to the largest extent, which was 1.8 and 1.9 times of white light treatment(30 d and 60 d).Under L2 light intensity, the effect of strong light on promoting stem germination became the main factor, while the yellow light treatment showed no significant effect on promoting stem germination, and the red light treatment exhibited a significant effect on reducing leaf area. Icariin flavonoids under red light, blue light and yellow light treatment were all lower than that under white light treatment, that is, the effect of white light treatment on the synthesis of icariin flavonoids is better than red light, blue light and yellow light treatment. When the time of strong light treatment was longer, the degradation range of icariin flavonoids in other light treatment appeared, while red light treatment promotes the synthesis of icariin flavonoids. Therefore, the influence of light quality on E. pseudowushanense is quite different under different light intensity, no matter from growth index or flavonoid content index. The results support that the biomass and icariin flavonoid content can be increased by providing appropriate red and yellow light.

A phytochemical study on the rhizomes of Trillium tschonoskii led to the isolation of fourteen new steroidal saponins, trillitschosides S1-S14 (1-14), along with ten known analogues (15-24). Their structures were established mainly by spectroscopic analyses as well as necessary chemical evidence. All isolated compounds were screened for the cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells, and the results demonstrated that only the known compounds 21-24 exhibited the remarkable cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cells which is much better than the positive control of 5-FU., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Two medicinal PA type Perilla germplasms were planted at five planting densities(D1,2 500 plants/Mu;D2,5 500 plants/Mu;D3,8 500 plants/Mu;D4,11 500 plants/Mu;D5,14 500 plants/Mu;1 Mu≈667 m~2). A total of 17 traits, including leaf shape, plant type, yield, volatile oil content and composition, were recorded and studied. With the planting density increased, the leaves appeared narrow, plants small, the deciduous leaves increased, and the leaf yield per plant was low, but the leaf yield per Mu increases significantly with the planting density, and was basically stable after reaching D4. The extraction rate of volatile oil from leaves at planting density D2-D5 was about 0.1% higher than that of D1, and there was no significant difference in the relative content of perillaldehyde, among 5 density. In order to achieve high leaf yield, it is recommended to plant at a density of D4, 11 500 plants/Mu(plant spacing is 15 cm, and row spacing is 40 cm); while comprehensive leaf yield and leaf morphology are recommended to be planted at a density of D2, 5 500 plants/Mu(plant spacing is 30 cm, and row spacing is 40 cm). At the same time, dense planting resistance of two germplasms were different. Number of secondary branches, first section with leaves and plant types were most important feature for the evaluation of the density tolerance of PA-type Perilla. This study provided a reference for the suitable density of PA-type Perilla, and laid a foundation for further study of the tolerance characteristics of different Perilla.

Although exogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) demonstrated great potential for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, its therapeutic effect and underlying cytological mechanism were not fully elucidated so far. We employed a controlled, prospectively designed modified single prolonged stress mice model to investigate the role of exogenous NGF on the modified single prolonged stress induced PTSD-like symptoms and hippocampal cytoarchitecture impairment, as well as the potential neuronal signaling modulation. We discovered that the modified single prolonged stress-exposure induced significant PTSD-like symptoms as well as mildly impaired hippocampal Cornu Ammonis 1 (CA1) subregion cytoarchitecture, but not dentate gyrus neurogenesis, together with a gradual inhibition of TrkA-CREB-ERK signalings in hippocampal CA1 subregion. NGF treatment dose-dependently ameliorated the modified single prolonged stress induced PTSD-like symptoms. NGF increased the cytoplasm/nucleus ratio and improved the neuronal plasticity, mainly via the TrkA-ERK-CREB pathway. Our study offered the translational evidence for the potential application of exogenous NGF for treating or early preventing PTSD after stress exposure., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: Differences in the activated coagulation time (ACT) during ablation and adequate heparin dosing were observed among atrial fibrillation (AF) patients undergoing AF catheter ablation receiving different anticoagulation therapies and the suitable heparin dosing during ablation among patients treated with different anticoagulation therapies was explored. Methods: Patients who received warfarin ( n= 100), low-molecular-weight heparin ( n= 100), dabigatran etexilate ( n= 98, 110 mg, Bid) and rivaroxaban ( n= 48, 20 mg, Qd) were included. All of them underwent the first AF ablation during January 2016 to December 2017 and patients with hepatic and renal dysfunction were excluded. Initial bolus heparin (100 U/kg, intravenous) was applied to all patients. Additional heparin dosage was added according to the ACT, which was measured in 15-minute interval to maintain the ACT within 250-350 seconds until the end of ablation. Patient characteristics, ACT and complications were compared among various groups. Results: The baseline general characteristics among patients were similar. The baseline ACTs in the dabigatran groups were significantly longer than those in the rivaroxaban group ((133±36) seconds vs. (113±22) seconds, P< 0.05). The 15 min ACT in the warfarin group was longer than in the dabigatran group ((259±56) seconds vs. (243±43) seconds, P< 0.05). The 15-minute ACTs were significantly longer in the warfarin ((259±56) seconds) and dabigatran ((243±43) seconds) groups compare with low-molecular-weight heparin group ((224±40) seconds) and rivaroxaban group ((226±32) seconds) (all P< 0.05). The same trend was also observed in the rate of reaching ACT goal after initial-standard-dosage of heparin (warfarin (53%, 53/100), dabigatran (45%,44/98), low-molecular-weight heparin (28%,28/100), rivaroxaban (23%,11/48), P< 0.05). The 1 hour ACT in the warfarin group ((254±49) seconds) was significantly longer than the other three groups (dabigatran (233±33) seconds, low-molecular-weight heparin (226±34) seconds, rivaroxaban (231±30) seconds, all P< 0.01). The rate of reaching ACT goal at 1 hour were significantly higher in the warfarin group (66%,35/53) than in the dabigatran group (41%,18/44), and rivaroxaban group (27%,3/11) (all P< 0.05). The total heparin required was significantly higher in rivaroxaban group than in the dabigatran and warfarin groups (all P< 0.05). During the perioperative period, no patient exhibited any thromboembolic complications, and only a few minor bleeding complications was observed among patients, which was similar between the four groups ( P> 0.05). Conclusion: Higher dosage of heparin is required during AF ablation to achieve the satisfactory anticoagulant intensity for AF patients under dabigatran etexilate (110 mg, Bid), low-molecular-weight heparin and rivaroxaban (20 mg, Qd) anticoagulation therapy before AF ablation.

Ziziphi Spinosae Semen is one of the Chinese herbal medicine being susceptible to aflatoxins contamination. To investigate the sources of aflatoxins contamination and toxigenic fungi species on Ziziphi Spinosae Semen,32 samples were collected from multiple steps during the post-harvest processing in this study. Aflatoxins in these samples were determined by immunoaffinity column and HPLC coupled with post-column photochemical derivatization. The dilution-plate method was applied to the fungi isolation. The isolated fungi strains were identified by morphological characterization and molecular approaches. The results showed that aflatoxins were detected in 28 samples from every step during the processing of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen. Three samples were detected with aflatoxin B&#95;1 and 2 samples with both aflatoxin B&#95;1 and total aflatoxin exceeding the limit of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Especially the samples from the washing step,with the highest detected amounts of AFB&#95;1 and AFs were reached 94. 79,121. 43 μg·kg~(-1),respectively. All 32 samples were contaminated by fungi. The fungal counts on the newly harvested samples were 2. 20 × 10~2 CFU·g~(-1). Moreover,it increased as tphreocessing progresses,and achieved 1. 16×10~6 CFU·g~(-1) after washing. A total of 321 isolates were identified to 17 genera. Aspergillus flavus was the main source of aflatoxins during the processing and storage of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen. One isolate of A. flavus was confirmed producing AFB&#95;1 and AFB&#95;2. The fungal count was significantly increased by composting,and Aspergillus was the predominant genus after shell breaking. The contamination level of aflatoxins was increased by composting and washing.

The change of icariin( ICA) content in thirty-three samples of five Epimedium species listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia( 2015 edition),including E. brevicornu,E. sagittatum,E. pubescens,E. koreanum,and E. wushanense has been investigated in this study. The results indicated that the optimized process procedure was baking at 150 ℃ for 30 min,and 3'''-carbonyl-2″-β-L-quinovosyl icariin( CQICA) could not be translated into ICA and ICA could be converted under this heating process condition. ICA increased remarkably after the heating process by 1-3 times in E. brevicornu,E. wushanense and E. koreanum,and increased lightly in E. brevicornum and E. pubescens,while ICA slightly increased or decreased in E. sagittatum and E. wushanense.

Background: A key challenge in thyroid carcinoma is preoperatively diagnosing malignant thyroid nodules. The purpose of this study was to compare the classification performance of linear and nonlinear machine-learning algorithms for the evaluation of thyroid nodules using pathological reports as reference standard., Methods: Ethical approval was obtained for this retrospective analysis, and the informed consent requirement was waived. A total of 1179 thyroid nodules (training cohort, n = 700; validation cohort, n = 479) were confirmed by pathological reports or fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. The following ultrasonography (US) featu res were measured for each nodule: size (maximum diameter), margins, shape, aspect ratio, capsule, hypoechoic halo, composition, echogenicity, calcification pattern, vascularity, and cervical lymph node status. We analyzed five nonlinear and three linear machine-learning algorithms. The diagnostic performance of each algorithm was compared by using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve. We repeated this process 1000 times to obtain the mean AUC and 95% confidence interval (CI)., Results: Overall, nonlinear machine-learning algorithms demonstrated similar AUCs compared with linear algorithms. The Random Forest and Kernel Support Vector Machines algorithms achieved slightly greater AUCs in the validation cohort (0.954, 95% CI: 0.939-0.969; 0.954 95%CI: 0.939-0.969, respectively) than other algorithms., Conclusions: Overall, nonlinear machine-learning algorithms share similar performance compared with linear algorithms for the evaluation the malignancy risk of thyroid nodules., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop an ultrasound-based nomogram to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the identification of malignant thyroid nodules., Methods: A total of 1675 histologically proven thyroid nodules (1169 benign, 506 malignant) were included in this study. The nodules were grouped into the training dataset (n = 700), internal validation dataset (n = 479), or external validation dataset (n = 496). The grayscale ultrasound features included the nodule size, shape, aspect ratio, echogenicity, margins, and calcification pattern. We applied least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression to select the strongest features for the nomogram. Nomogram discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUC) and calibration were assessed. The nomogram was subjected to bootstrapping validation (1000 bootstrap resamples) to calculate a mean AUC and 95% confidence interval (CI)., Results: The nomogram showed good discrimination in the training dataset, with an AUC of 0.936 (95% CI: 0.918-0.953) and good calibration. Application of the nomogram to the internal validation dataset also resulted in good discrimination (AUC: 0.935; 95% CI, 0.915-0.954) and good calibration. The model tested in an external validation dataset demonstrated a lower AUC of 0.782 (95% CI: 0.776-0.789)., Conclusions: This ultrasound-based nomogram can be used to quantify the probability of malignant thyroid nodules., Key Points: • Ultrasound examination is helpful in the differential diagnosis of malignant and benign thyroid nodules. • However, ultrasound accuracy relies heavily on examiner experience. • A less subjective diagnostic model is desired, and the developed nomogram for thyroid nodules showed good discrimination and good calibration.

Fifty cultivated Perilla seeds were collected all over the country and planted in Beijing experiment field for morphology and chemical-type researches. Twenty morphological characteristics were selected and observed, and the essential oil from leaves was extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by GC-MS to confirm chemical-types. There were significant diversities in plant height, leaf color and morphology, and fruit color and weight. Clustering analysis was carried out based on these morphological characteristics. Six types were divided with their chemical-type designated. Type Ⅰ: Six germplasms, attributed to P. frutescens var. crispa, with dwarf plants, thin creased purple leaf, named Crispa, their chemical types were diversified, including EK, PAPK, PA and PK. Type Ⅱ: Six germplasms, attributed to P. frutescens var. crispa, plants were taller than type I and with thin and creased green leaf, named Big Crispa, all PK type. Type Ⅲ: Seventeen germplasms, attributed to P. frutescens var. frutescens with leaf color upside green and underside purple, tall plant and wide distribution all over the China, named Ordinary Frutescens, all PK. Type Ⅳ: Four germplasms, attributed to P. frutescens var. acuta with tall plant and small seed, named Acuta, all PK. Type Ⅴ: Seven germplasms, attributed to P. frutescens var. frutescens with green leaves, tall plants and long clusters, named Long-spike Frutescens, all PK. Type Ⅵ: Ten germplasms, attributed to P. frutescens var. frutescens with big, thick and creased leaf, named Thick-leaf Frutescens, including PK, PP, PL and PA. The morphological classification of this paper would lay the foundation for the taxonomic naming and following evaluation of the Perilla germplasm resources.This study also showed that there was no correspondence but a certain correlation between volatile oil chemical-types and subspecies classification and morphological characteristics of Perilla.

Objectives: To explore the feasibility of preoperative prediction of vascular invasion (VI) in breast cancer patients using nomogram based on multiparametric MRI and pathological reports., Methods: We retrospectively collected 200 patients with confirmed breast cancer between January 2016 and January 2018. All patients underwent MRI examinations before the surgery. VI was identified by postoperative pathology. The 200 patients were randomly divided into training (n = 100) and validation datasets (n = 100) at a ratio of 1:1. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select predictors most associated with VI of breast cancer. A nomogram was constructed to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive prediction value (PPV) and negative prediction value (NPV). We bootstrapped the data for 2000 times without setting the random seed to obtain corrected results., Results: VI was observed in 79 patients (39.5%). LASSO selected 10 predictors associated with VI. In the training dataset, the AUC for nomogram was 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-0.99, the sensitivity was 78.9% (95%CI: 72.4%-89.1%), the specificity was 95.3% (95%CI: 89.1%-100.0%), the accuracy was 86.0% (95%CI: 82.0%-92.0%), the PPV was 95.7% (95%CI: 90.0%-100.0%), and the NPV was 77.4% (95%CI: 67.8%-87.0%). In the validation dataset, the AUC for nomogram was 0.89 (95%CI: 0.83-0.95), the sensitivity was 70.3% (95%CI: 60.7%-79.2%), the specificity was 88.9% (95%CI: 80.0%-97.1%), the accuracy was 77.0% (95%CI: 70.0%-83.0%), the PPV was 91.8% (95%CI: 85.3%-98.0%), and the NPV was 62.7% (95%CI: 51.7%-74.0%). The nomogram calibration curve shows good agreement between the predicted probability and the actual probability., Conclusion: The proposed nomogram could be used to predict VI in breast cancer patients, which was helpful for clinical decision-making., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Only a limited number of studies considered the combined chemo-radiation therapy after surgery for treating locally advanced rectal cancer. Comparative studies on laparoscopic and open procedures indicated that laparoscopy surgery may be associated with fewer postoperative complications. Despite encouraging results from rectal cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy prior to laparoscopic surgery, the acceptance of this procedure remains controversial, and conflicting evidence exists only in the form of retrospective trials., Objectives: Since laparoscopic surgery was introduced into clinical practice to treat rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy, it has been discussed controversially whether laparoscopic surgery can be performed as effectively as an open procedure. To overcome the biases inherent in any nonrandomized comparison, we analyzed the propensity-matched analysis and randomized clinical trial. In this study, we set out to determine whether laparoscopic resection was non-inferior to open resection in treatment outcomes of rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy., Methods: Publications on laparoscopic surgery in comparison with open thoracotomy in treatment outcomes of rectal cancer after neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy to November 2017 were collected. Summary hazard ratios (HRs) of endpoints of interest such as 3-OS (overall survival), 3-DFS (disease-free survival), and individual postoperative complications were analyzed in all trials. By using fixed- or random-effects models according to the heterogeneity, meta-analysis Revman 5.3 software was applied to analyze combined pooled HRs., Results: A total of 6 trials met our inclusion criteria. The pooled analysis of 3-DFS showed that laparoscopic surgery did not improve disease -free survival, compared with open thoracotomy (OR =1.48, 95% CI 0.95 - 2.29; P = 0.08), as well with the 3-OS (OR=0.96, 95%CI=0.66-1.41, P=0.084). The pooled result of duration of surgery indicated that laparoscopic surgery had a tendency towards a longer surgery time (SMD= 43.96, 95% CI 34.04- 53.88; P < 0.00001) and a shorter hospital stay (SMD= -0.97, 95% CI -1.75- -0.18; P=0.02). However, no significant differences between laparoscopic surgery and open thoracotomy were observed in terms of the meta-analysis on the number of removed lymph nodes (SMD =-0.37, 95% CI -0.1.77 - 1.03; P = 0.60), blood loss (SMD =-21.30, 95% CI -0.48.36 - 5.77; P = 0.12), positive circumferential resection margin (OR =0.73, 95% CI 0.22- 2.48; P = 0.61) or postoperative complications (OR =0.89, 95% CI 0.67 - 1.17; P = 0.40) l., Conclusion: The current data supported the concept that laparoscopic surgery had correlated with a longer operative time but a shorter hospital stay, without superior advantages in short-term survival rates or oncologic efficiency for locally treating advanced rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. However, prospective investigation on long-term oncological results from laparoscopic surgery is required in the future to verify the benefits of laparoscopic surgery over open surgery after chemo-radiation therapy for treating locally advanced rectal cancer., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze the chemical differences in Bupleurum. chinense,B. marginatum,B. marginatum var. stenophyllum and B. smithii var. parvifolium. Chromatographic separation was carried out on an Acquity HSS T3 C&#95;(18) column( 2. 1 mm ×100 mm,1. 8 μm,Waters) with the mobile phase composed of 0. 1% formic acid in water-acetonitrile in the gradient elution. A hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry( Q-TOF-MS~E) was used for mass spectrometric analysis. Finally,25 peaks were identified based on their exact mass data and fragmentation characteristics. B.chinense,B.marginatum,B. marginatum var. stenophyllum and B. smithii var. parvifolium were obviously clustered into 3 types through processing by principal component analysis( PCA). There was almost no difference between B. chinense and B. marginatum. However,the compounds existed in B. chinense were different from those in B. marginatum var. stenophyllum,and B. smithii var. parvifolium.

Glial scar impedes axon regeneration and functional recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although it has been shown that rapamycin (a specific inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin) can reduce astrocyte reactivation in the early stage of TBI, its effect on glial scar formation has not been characterized in TBI and other acute brain injury models. To test this, ICR mice received daily administration of rapamycin (0.5 or 1.5 mg/kg, i.p.) beginning at 1 h after cryogenic TBI (cTBI). The results showed that at 3 d post-injury, 1.5 mg/kg rapamycin increased cTBI-induced motor functional deficits and infarct size, and attenuated astrocyte reactivation in the ipsilateral cortex, while 0.5 mg/kg rapamycin did not worsen brain damage and only slightly attenuated astrocyte reactivation. Furthermore, at 7 and 14 d after cTBI, 0.5 mg/kg rapamycin group showed a better motor functional performance than cTBI group. At 14 d post-injury, 0.5 mg/kg rapamycin significantly reduced the area and thickness of glial scar and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan expression, accompanied by decreased expression of p-S6 and enhanced expression of growth associated protein 43 (an axon regeneration marker) in the region of glial scar. Our data suggest that long-term treatment with rapamycin can inhibit glial scar formation after cTBI, which may be involved in the mechanisms of increased axon regeneration and improved neurological functional recovery, and low-dose rapamycin may be more beneficial for such a therapy., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In order to explore appropriate measures to promote germination after the harvest of Epimedium pseudowushanense, 6-BA, urea, ammonium bicarbonate and GA₃ were chosen to spray on the root and rhizomes, and then the biological indicators such as branches, leaf length, leaf width, plant height and so on, were measured in different periods, and the contents of epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C and icariin in the dry leaves were detected by HPLC. Results showed that 6-BA 90 mg·L⁻¹(B1), 6-BA 60 mg·L⁻¹(B2),6-BA 30 mg·L⁻¹+urea 300 mg·L⁻¹ (C1), 6-BA 60 mg·L⁻¹+urea 300 mg·L⁻¹(C2),6-BA 60 mg·L⁻¹+ ammonium bicarbonate 300 mg·L⁻¹(C4) significantly increased bud germination in the early period, and the plants quickly set up new system of photosynthesis, the branches in a month of which were higher than the control group respectively by 165.9%, 115.76%, 103.86%, 104.50%, 81.67%.However the branches developed the next year and the dry weight of leaves per plant in group B1 and B2 were much lower than that in control group. The groups that use 6-BA and nitrogen at the same time reaped a good yield of leaves even though the treatment had no significant influence on the branches developed the next year. The dry weight of leaves of C1, C2, C4 treatments were 36.80%, 32.84%, 45.97% more than the control group respectively. Therefore, C1, C2 and C4 treatments are the more appropriate to promote recovery after harvest. Furthermore, different groups, except 10 mg·L⁻¹ 6-BA treatment significantly reduced the content of epimedin C, other groups didn't have any significant effect on the contents of such flavonoids., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Based on a grid (25 m X 25 m) equidistant sampling, the spatial variability of pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, CEC and three typical heavy metal elements Cd, As and Pb in soil tillage layer (0-20 cm) were analyzed by using GIS and Geostatistics in the paddy field of 3.56 hm 2 in Beishan Town, Changsha County, Hunan Province. The results showed that soil pH value and Pb content showed weak variation, and other indexes showed moderate variation. The order of variation was following available phosphorus ＞ Cd ＞ total nitrogen ＞ organic matter ＞ CEC ＞ As ＞ Pb ＞ pH. Results of the semi-variance test showed that the best fitting model of the semi-variance function of organic matter, available phosphorus and As was exponential, and the best semi-variance function of pH, total nitrogen, CEC, Cd, Pb was spherical. All the indicators had a strong spatial correlation except for CEC, which showed moderate spatial correlation. Kriging interpolation analysis showed that pH, total nitrogen, CEC, Pb were plaque distribution, while organic matter, available phosphorus, Cd and As were block and banded distribution. Vegetation, topography and human activities were the main factors driving the variation of soil nutrients and heavy metals in the study area. The correlation between soil nutrients and heavy metals content was significant, among which pH and organic matter, Cd and Pb reached a very significant correlation level.

Pain, especially chronic pain, has always been a heated point in both basic and clinical researches since it puts heavy burdens on both individuals and the whole society. A better understanding of the role of biological molecules and various ionic channels involved in pain can shed light on the mechanism under pain and advocate the development of pain management. Using viral vectors to transfer specific genes at targeted sites is a promising method for both research and clinical applications. Lentiviral vectors and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors which allow stable and long-term expression of transgene in non-dividing cells are widely applied in pain research. In this review, we thoroughly outline the structure, category, advantages and disadvantages and the delivery methods of lentiviral and AAV vectors. The methods through which lentiviral and AAV vectors are delivered to targeted sites are closely related with the sites, level and period of transgene expression. Focus is placed on the various delivery methods applied to deliver vectors to spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion both of which play important roles in primary nociception. Our goal is to provide insight into the features of these two viral vectors and which administration approach can be chosen for different pain researches. Anat Rec, 301:825-836, 2018. © 2017 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Anatomists., (© 2017 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Anatomists.)

Objective: This study aims to observe the effect and mechanism of Xiaoru Sanjie Jiaonang (XRSJ) on the treatment of mammary gland hyperplasia, and provide a theoretical basis and clinical evidence for clinical expansion., Methods: Japanese white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: high-, middle- and low-dose groups; Xiaoyao Pill group; model control group; normal control group. The observation points were as follows: before XRSJ administration, three months after XRSJ administration, and three months after XRSJ discontinuance. Changes in breast height, morphological changes of the mammary gland under a light and electron microscope, and the expression of ki-67 were observed. At the same time, patients diagnosed with mammary gland hyperplasia at an Outpatient Clinic were selected and divided into treatment groups. These patients received XRSJ and Xiaoyao Pills, respectively, for one month, while patients in the control group did not receive any drug treatment. Clinical efficacy was observed while rechecking at the Outpatient Clinic after three months. Treatment with a therapeutic dose of XRSJ could significantly reduce breast height, decrease the number of lobules and acini in hyperplastic mammary glands and the layer number of ductal glandular epithelial cells, substantially lower the content of serum estradiol (E2), significantly downregulate the expression of ki-67 protein in mammary tissues, and inhibit mammary gland hyperplasia., Conclusion: XRSJ treatment can relieve mammary tissue hyperplastic lesions, reduce E2 levels and downregulate the expression of ki-67. It has a significant therapeutic effect on mammary gland hyperplasia., Competing Interests: None.

We explored the genetic basis of the promiscuous symbiosis of Sophora flavescens with diverse rhizobia. To determine the impact of Nod factors (NFs) on the symbiosis of S. flavescens, nodulation-related gene mutants of representative rhizobial strains were generated. Strains with mutations in common nodulation genes (nodC, nodM, and nodE) failed to nodulate S. flavescens, indicating that the promiscuous nodulation of this plant is strictly dependent on the basic NF structure. Mutations of the NF decoration genes nodH, nodS, nodZ, and noeI did not affect the nodulation of S. flavescens, but these mutations affected the nitrogen-fixation efficiency of nodules. Wild-type Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110 cannot nodulate S. flavescens, but we obtained 14 Tn5 mutants of B. diazoefficiens that nodulated S. flavescens. This suggested that the mutations had disrupted a negative regulator that prevents nodulation of S. flavescens, leading to nonspecific nodulation. For Ensifer fredii CCBAU 45436 mutants, the minimal NF structure was sufficient for nodulation of soybean and S. flavescens. In summary, the mechanism of promiscuous symbiosis of S. flavescens with rhizobia might be related to its nonspecific recognition of NF structures, and the host specificity of rhizobia may also be controlled by currently unknown nodulation-related genes.

Objectives: To investigate the findings of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of focal eosinophilic infiltration (FEI) of the liver., Methods: A retrospective study including 29 patients with confirmed FEI of the liver was performed. We evaluated the lesions' number, distribution, size, shape, margin, attenuation or signal intensity characteristics, the enhancement pattern, and some special features. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the number of lesions and the eosinophil counts in peripheral blood., Results: In all, 108 lesions were detected in 29 cases, including two cases with single lesion and the remaining 27 cases with multiple lesions. The mean size of all lesions was 34 mm (range, from 3 to 61 mm). 95 (88%) lesions were located in subcapsular parenchyma or surrounding the portal vein. Most (66%) subcapsular lesions were wedge shaped and all lesions surrounding portal vein were round shaped. However, the hepatic parenchymal lesions were irregular or round shaped. All lesions showed ill-defined margins. On pre-contrast CT images, the lesions showed slightly low attenuation or iso-attenuating. On T1-weighted and T2-weighted images, the lesions were slightly iso-/hypointense and hyperintense, respectively. A total of 23 (79.3%) cases were gradually enhanced. Branches of portal vein went through the lesions in all cases; 12 had 'stripe sign' and 16 had 'halo ring sign.' Spearman analysis indicated a significant correlation between the number of lesions and the increased eosinophils in peripheral blood (r = 0.627, p = 0.0003)., Conclusions: Special CT and MRI features and increased eosinophils may strongly suggest the diagnosis of FEI of the liver.

Nitrogen nutrition divided into concentrations and forms for Epimedium pseudowushanense was studied under hydroponic conditions. There were 7 nitrogen concentrations treatments（N0-N6）which nitrogen concentration was 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 13.0 mmol•L⁻¹, respectively, and 5 nitrogen forms and proportions treatments (T1-T5) which NO3-N/NH4-N was 5∶0, 4∶1, 2.5∶2.5, 1∶4, 0∶5 respectively, the total nitrogen applied was 5 mmol•L⁻¹. The results showed that along with the increase of nitrogen concentration, biomass (dry weight) and leaf dry weight increased, which in N5 treatment was 29%, 23% higher than those in N0 and 36%, 23% higher than those in N4 respectively, but not significantly different from N6 treatment. Roots and stem dry weights did not change significantly. Pn and the contents of photosynthetic pigments were higher in N3-N5 treatments. Epimedin A, B, C, icariin and total flavonoids contents were the lowest in N3 treatment, suddenly increase in N4 treatment and only a little change between N4-N6 treatments. N5 treatment with the highest epimedin C content was 131% higher than N3 treatment with the lowest epimedin C content (P<0.05). While in the nitrogen forms and proportions treatments, biomass, leaf and stem dry weights were the highest in T3 treatment and lower in T1 and T5 treatments, without significance between T1 and T5 treatments. These indicators in T3 treatment were more than 30% higher than those in T1 treatment. The impact of nitrogen concentrations was greater than nitrogen forms on flavonoids. epmedin C content was the highest in T1 treatment, only 5%-8% higher than that in T2-T5 treatments (no significance between 4 treatments). Epimedin A, B, icariin and total flavonoids contents were higher in T1 treatment, the lowest in T2 treatment, those in T1 treatment was 41%, 62% and 27% higher than T2 treatment respectively (P<0.05). In a conclusion, E. pseudowushanense is a high nitrogen tolerant plant, 10.0 mmol•L⁻¹ was the boundary point between growing general to well and the optimal nitrogen concentration for it was 10.0-13.0 mmol•L⁻¹. Besides, it prefers to grow in NO-3 plus NH+4 and the optimal proportion was 2.5∶2.5., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)