One important purpose to investigate medicinal plants is to understand genes and enzymes that govern the biological metabolic process to produce bioactive compounds.Genome wide high throughput technologies such as genomics,transcriptomics,proteomics and metabolomics can help reach that goal.Such technologies can produce a vast amount of data which desperately need bioinformatics and systems biology to process,manage,distribute and understand these data.By dealing with theomicsdata,bioinformatics and systems biology can also help improve the quality of traditional medicinal materials,develop new approaches for the classification and authentication of medicinal plants,identify new active compounds,and cultivate medicinal plant species that tolerate harsh environmental conditions.In this review,the application of bioinformatics and systems biology in medicinal plants is briefly introduced.

OBJECTIVE:To study the action mechanism of the self-made Wuhuang tang(Chinese medicine)in the treatment of type Ⅲ prostatitis(chronic nonbacterial prostatitis,CNBP)so as to promote the action mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine to the molecular level.METHODS:90 patients with CNBP were divided into two groups(n=45 each):one group received western medicine alone,another group received integrated Chinese and western medicine(ICWM)(Wuhuangtang plus western medicine).The indicators such as the expressed prostatic secretions(EPS)routine,IL-1?,and TNF-? before and after the treatment were analyzed statistically.RESULTS:The levels of IL-1? and TNF-? in ICWM-treated group decreased significantly and the clinical symptoms of these patients improved significantly as compared with those treated with western medicine alone.CONCLUSION:The self-made Wuhuang tang can markedly alleviate the symptoms of CNBP patients and decrease levels of IL-1? and TNF-? in patients' EPS,thus it is an effective clinical empirical prescription for CNBP.

Objective To investigate the peri-nasopharyngeal invasion patterns of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) on MRI and its relationship with tumor staging. Methods One thousand five hundred and seventy-three patients with newly diagnosed NPC which were histo-pathologically proved were retrospectively studied. The MRI manifestations and invasion patterns of the NPCs were elevated according to the 2008 Tstaging system of NPC. Z test was used to analyze the rate of adjacent structures invasion in NPCs. Results The structures invaded by NPCs included pharyngobasilar fascia in 1299 cases (82. 58% ); parapharyngeal space, 1090 ( 69. 29% ); nasal cavities, 304 ( 19. 33% ); oropharynx, 49 ( 3. 12% ); carotid space,514(32. 68% ); medial pterygoid muscle, 661 (42. 02% ); lateral pterygoid muscle, 210( 13. 35% ); skull base bones, 943(59. 95% ); cranial nerves, 630(40. 05% ) and paranasal sinuses, 242 ( 15.38% ). The T-stage distribution was T1, 242 cases ( 15.38% ); T2, 288 ( 18. 31% ); T3, 410 (26. 06% ) and T4,633 (40. 24% ). Among the cases with nasal cavities invasion, 90. 46% (275/304)showed the involvement of the structures seen in T3 or T4 stage, which was found in all cases with oropharynx invasion. In addition,69. 14% (457/661) of cases with medial pterygoid muscle invasion and 92. 15% (223/242) of cases with paranasal sinuses invasion showed the involvement of structures seen in T4 stage. As for the invasion patterns of NPC, the lateral invasion of pharyngobasilar fascia was more frequent than upward invasion of skull base (Z = 14. 025, P ＜ 0. 01 ) and downward invasion of oropharynx ( Z = 45.032, P ＜ 0. 01 ), and the downward invasion of oropharynx was less frequent than upward invasion of skull base ( Z = 34. 301, P ＜ 0. 01 ) and forward invasion of nasal cavities ( Z = 14. 404, P ＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusion NPC has a predilection of lateral invasion rather than upward and downward invasion, and its upward and forward invasion are more common than downward invasion.

Objective To compare the postoperative analgesic effect of ultrasonography-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and local wound infiltration in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).Methods Fifty patients who underwent LC were randomly assigned to receive TAP block (T group) or local wound infiltration (A group).In group T,40 mL of 0.25％ mpivacaine was administered in TAP block.In group A,0.5％ ropivacaine was injected around the trocar and extraction site.Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded at baseline,before incision,and 3 min after pneumoperitoneum.The dosages of remifentanil and sufentanil and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) were also recorded.Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for resting and coughing states were assessed at 0,1,2,6,and 24 hours after operation.Results Compared with group A,the dosage of remifentanil was less,and MAP and HR at 3 min after pneumoperitoneum were significantly lower in group T (P ＜ 0.05).No significant difference was found in VAS score at resting state.In group T,the VAS scores at coughing state in the postanesthesia care unit immediately,1 h,and 2 h after operation were lower than those in group A (P ＜ 0.05).The sufentanil dosage was less in group T than in group A (P ＜ 0.05).No significant difference was found in the incidence of PONV.Conclusion The postoperative analgesic effect of TAP block is the same as that in local wound infiltration.However,it can reduce the pain score in the movement state and reduce the opioid dosages.

PURPOSE: Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI)was evaluated regarding its ability to preliminarily predict the short-term treatment response of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) following intensity-modulated radiation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IVIM-DWI with 14 b-factors (0-1,000 sec/mm2) was performed with a 3T MR system on 47 consecutive NPCs before, during (end of the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th fractions), and after fractional radiotherapy. IVIM parametrics (D, f, and D*) were calculated and compared to the baseline and xth fraction. Patients were categorized into responders and non-responders after radiotherapy. IVIM parametrics were also compared between subgroups. RESULTS: After fractional radiations, the D (except D5 and D at the end of the 5th fraction) after radiations were larger than the baseline D0 (p < 0.05), and the post-radiation D* (except D*5 and D*10) were smaller than D*0 (p < 0.05). f0 was smaller than f5 and f10 (p < 0.001) but larger than fend (p < 0.05). Furthermore, greater D5, D10, D15, and f10 coupled with smaller f0, D*20, and D*25 were observed in responders than non-responders (all p < 0.01). Responders also presented larger ΔD10, Δf10, ΔD*20, and δD*20 than non-responders (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the D5, D*20, and f10 could better differentiate responders from non-responders. CONCLUSION: IVIM-DWI could efficiently assess tumor treatment response to fractional radiotherapy and predict the radio-sensitivity for NPCs.
Diffusion* ; Humans ; Radiation Tolerance ; Radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; ROC Curve

Aberrant activation of NLRP3 inflammasome has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse inflammation-related diseases, and pharmacological molecules targeting NLRP3 inflammasome are of considerable value to identifying potential therapeutic interventions. Cardamonin (CDN), the major active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb , has exerted an excellent anti-inflammatory activity, but the mechanism underlying this role is not fully understood. Here, we show that CDN blocks canonical and noncanonical NLRP3 inflammasome activation triggered by multiple stimuli. Moreover, the suppression of CDN on inflammasome activation is specific to NLRP3, not to NLRC4 or AIM2 inflammasome. Besides, the inhibitory effect is not dependent on the expression of NF-B-mediated inflammasome precursor proteins. We also demonstrate that CDN suppresses the NLRP3 inflammasome through blocking ASC oligomerization and speckle formation in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, CDN improves the survival of mice suffering from lethal septic shock and attenuates IL-1 production induced by LPS , which is shown to be NLRP3 dependent. In conclusion, our results identify CDN as a broad-spectrum and specific inhibitor of NLRP3 inflammasome and a candidate therapeutic drug for treating NLRP3 inflammasome-driven diseases.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2019.02.003.].