OBJECTIVE: Rhodiolae Crenulatae Radix et Rhizoma (Hongjingtian in Chinese, RCRR), the roots and rhizomes of Rhodiola crenulata and its application in the medicinal market is very chaotic. In this study, DNA barcoding database and identification engine of Rhodiola species were established, decoction pieces from the medicinal market were identified, and the application and challenges of DNA barcoding in the rapid radiation of Rhodiola species were analyzed. This study provides reference for the protection, rational development, and utilization of endangered resources within Rhodiola species. METHODS: A total of 50 original plant samples from 20 species of the genus Rhodiola from Hebei, Xinjiang, Tibet, Jilin, and other major production areas were collected. Theses samples cover the typical distribution area (Qinghai-Tibetan Platea) of Rhodiola species and other scattered alpine regions (Changbai Mountain, Taibai Mountain, Lushan Mountain, etc.), it encompasses all Rhodiola species with thick rhizomes in China. ITS2 and psbA-trnH barcode of Rhodiola database (BORD) were established and an identification engine named Rhodiola-IDE was developed. The stability and accuracy of the standard DNA barcoding database were evaluated using two datasets. Rhodiola-IDE identified 31 decoction pieces of RCRR from the medicinal material market. RESULTS: The BORD containing 1 532 sequences of 88 Rhodiola species has been established, and the identification efficiency results showed good accuracy and stability. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition), 23 samples (74.2%) were identified as authentic R. crenulata, while the rest of the marketed varieties were R. kirilowii, R. dumulosa, and R. fastigiata. The product label "Larger flower, Hongjingtian" was identified as R. crenulata. Samples labeled as "Smaller flower, Hongjingtian" were identified as R. crenulata, R. kirilowii, and R. fastigiata. CONCLUSION ITS2 and psbA-trnH barcodes can identify monophyletic groups represented by R. crenulata. However, for non-monophyletic species, it is necessary to collect as many samples as possible and combine them with multiple markers for joint identification. This study discussed the application and challenges of DNA barcodes in Rhodiola under rapid radiation conditions, providing a scientific basis for the rational development and utilization of Rhodiola varieties.

AIM: To assess the association between the Dem, axial length/corneal radius ratio(AL/CR ratio), and the refractive status of children aged 3 to 14, compare the efficiency of Dem with AL/CR ratio in predicting myopia, and to explore a more effective method for quantitatively predicting the refractive state of children.METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 519 children aged 3 to 14, including 519 eyes(data from the right eyes were used). All participants were out-patients at the ophthalmic clinic of Xi'an No.1 Hospital from March 2021 to December 2022. The axial length(AL), keratometry(K), Dem, and spherical equivalent refraction(SER)were recorded before ciliary paralysis, and myopia was defined when the SER ≤-0.50 D.RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between SER and Dem(r=0.88, P<0.01), and a negative correlation between SER and the AL/CR ratio(r=-0.87, P<0.01)in children aged 3-14. The optimal cutoff points for the Dem and AL/CR ratio were 20.40 D, and 3.02, respectively. Myopia could be diagnosed when the Dem ≤20.40 D or the AL/CR ratio ≥3.02. SER decreased by 0.57 D for every 1 D decrease in Dem and by 1.00 D for every 0.06 increase in the AL/CR ratio. The area under the ROC curve(AUC)for Dem(0.958)was significantly greater than that for the AL/CR ratio(0.940).CONCLUSION: There is a positive correlation between SER and Dem, and a negative correlation between SER and the AL/CR ratio in children aged 3-14. Dem is more efficient than the AL/CR ratio in myopia assessment. The eye biometrics directly provide Dem values, which is more convenient for calculating the dose-effect relationship with SER, thus making it more efficient for predicting SER in children.

With high incidence and lethality rate and certain disability rate， tumor has become a major global public health threat. It has been verified that the occurrence and development of tumor are resulted from the synergy of environment， heredity， and gene mutation， involving the abnormal activation or inhibition of a variety of related pathways such as oxidative stress， inflammation， autophagy， and mesenchymal transition of cells. Among them， the excessive activation of inflammatory signaling pathway is one of the main mechanisms of carcinogenesis and tumor progression， which enhances the proliferation， chemoradiotherapy resistance， invasion， and metastasis of cancer cells. At the moment， the correlation between long-term chronic uncontrollable inflammation and "inflammation-cancer transformation" has been widely recognized. Therefore， it is of great significance for the prevention and treatment， diagnosis， and prognosis evaluation of tumor to clarify the role of inflammation in the incidence of tumor. Blockers or activators have been developed to target the corresponding inflammatory pathways. However， tumor is accompanied by the abnormality of multiple inflammatory pathways， especially the advanced tumor with metastasis of cancer cells， and thus the efficacy of single pathway-targeting agents is non-ideal. Chinese medicine， featuring multiple components and multiple targets， can remarkably control the inflammatory response， delay tumor progression， enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to radiotherapy and chemotherapy， and reduce postoperative infection and the adverse reactions caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy， thereby exerting the anti-cancer effect. Nevertheless， a few reports on the anti-tumor effect of Chinese medicine from the perspective of inflammation are available. Therefore， this paper mainly expounds the influence of inflammation on the occurrence and development of tumor and summarizes the research on the intervention of tumor by Chinese medicine through inflammatory pathway， which is expected to provide a new mindset for the prevention and treatment of tumor.

To investigate whether transcription of hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene occurs in human sperm, total RNA was extracted from sperm of patients with chronic HBV infection (test-1), from donor sperm transfected with a plasmid containing the full-length HBV genome (test-2), and from nontransfected donor sperm (control), used as the template for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Positive bands for HBV DNA were observed in the test groups but not in the control. Next, to identify the role of host genes in regulating viral gene transcription in sperm, total RNA was extracted from 2-cell embryos derived from hamster oocytes fertilized in vitro by HBV-transfected (test) or nontransfected (control) human sperm and successively subjected to SMART-PCR, suppression subtractive hybridization, T/A cloning, bacterial amplification, microarray hybridization, sequencing and the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) search to isolate differentially expressed genes. Twenty-nine sequences showing significant identity to five human gene families were identified, with chorionic somatomammotropin hormone 2 (CSH2), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma 2 (EIF4G2), pterin-4 alpha-carbinolamine dehydratase 2 (PCBD2), pregnancy-specific beta-1-glycoprotein 4 (PSG4) and titin (TTN) selected to represent target genes. Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), when CSH2 and PCBD2 (or EIF4G2, PSG4 and TTN) were silenced by RNA interference, transcriptional levels of HBV s and x genes significantly decreased (or increased) (P < 0.05). Silencing of a control gene in sperm did not significantly change transcription of HBV s and x genes (P > 0.05). This study provides the first experimental evidence that transcription of HBV genes occurs in human sperm and is regulated by host genes.
Animals ; Connectin/genetics* ; Cricetinae ; Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4G/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation/genetics* ; Gene Silencing ; Growth Hormone/genetics* ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/genetics* ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics* ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/virology* ; Humans ; Hydro-Lyases/metabolism* ; Male ; Pregnancy-Specific beta 1-Glycoproteins/genetics* ; RNA, Viral/analysis* ; Spermatozoa/virology* ; Trans-Activators/genetics* ; Transcription, Genetic ; Transfection ; Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture on the expressions of autophagy related protein Beclin-1 and apoptosis related protein p53 of hippocampus in rats;To explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture on Alzheimer's disease (AD).Methods The rats were randomly divided into the normal group, the sham-operation group, the model group, and the electroacupuncture treatment group. “Baihui” and “Yongquan” points were taken for electroacupuncture treatment and the treatment course was 7 days. The rats were treated once a day for 4 courses. Changes in morphology and number of Nissl positive cells were examined by Nissl staining in hippocampal CA1 regions. Expressions of Beclin-1 and p53 protein were determined by Western blot analysis.Results Number of Nissl positive cells in CA1 region of the model group was significantly less than that of normal group (P<0.01). After electroacupuncture treatment, number of pyramidal cells and expression of Nissl body significantly increased (P<0.05). Expression of Beclin-1 decreased, while expression of p53 increased in the hippocampus of the model group, compared with that in the normal group (P<0.05). However, electroacupuncture treatment could significantly upregulate the expression of Beclin-1 protein (P<0.01), but downregulate the level of p53 (P<0.05).Conclusion Electro-acupuncture treatment could fight against Aβ-induced neuronal apoptosis, and improve the morphological changes of AD’s hippocampus.

Objective To explore the protective effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) serum onβ-amyloid protein (Aβ) induced primary rat hippcampal neurons. Methods The rat models of Alzheimer's disease were established by intracerebral injection of Aβ1-40. After treated them with EA, the serum was harvested. Primary cultured hippocampal neurons were treated with Aβ25-35 to establish neuronal damage model in vitro, and divided into normal group, model group and EA serum group. The proliferation of neurons was detected by MTT test. Neuronal apoptosis was examined by TUNEL staining, and expression of cysteine aspartic acid proteases-3 (Caspase-3) was detected by immunocytochemical staining. Results MTT test showed that the cell viability was significantly decreased after treated with Aβ. While compared with the model group, cell proliferation of EA serum group was significantly enhanced (P<0.01). TUNEL staining showed that the number of apoptotic cells in EA serum group decreased significantly compared with the model group (P<0.01). After 48 h of Aβ treatment, Caspase-3 expression levels were significantly elevated. However, compared with the model group, the number of Caspase-3 positive cells in EA serum group was significantly reduced (P<0.01). Conclusion The EA serum could promote the proliferation of hippocampal neurons, reduce the expression of Caspase-3, counteract the neurotoxicity of β-amyloid protein, and reduce neuronal apoptosis.