OBJECTIVE To explore the neuroprotective effect of sodium aescinate on rats with Parkinson’s disease by regulating the silent information regulator 1 （SIRT1）/nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） signaling pathway. METHODS The Parkinson’s disease rat model was constructed by using 6-hydroxydopamine injection method. Forty-eight rats successfully modeled were randomly divided into model group， sodium aescinate low-dose group （1.8 mg/kg）， sodium aescinate high-dose group （3.6 mg/kg）， sodium aescinate+EX527 （sodium aescinate 3.6 mg/kg+SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 5 mg/kg） group， with 12 rats in each group. Another 12 healthy rats were selected as the sham operation group. Each group was injected with the corresponding drug solution intraperitoneally， once a day， for 21 consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after the end of the last administration， the motor and cognitive functions of rats were detected， and the morphology of neurons in the substantia nigra and CA1 region of hippocampal tissue were observed. The content of dopamine （DA） in the nigrostriatal and the expression levels of tyrosine hydroxylase （TH） and α-synuclein （α-Syn） in the substantia nigra were detected. The serum levels of pro-inflammatory factor [interleukin-6 （IL-6）， IL-18]， anti-inflammatory factor （IL-10）， and the expression levels of SIRT1， phosphorylated NF-κB p65 （p-NF-κB p65） and NF- κB p65 protein in nigrostriatal were detected. RESULTS Compared with sham operation group， the neurons in the substantia nigra and CA1 region of hippocampal tissue were seriously damaged in model group； the number of rotations， escape latency， the expression levels of α-Syn in substantia nigra， the levels of serum pro-inflammatory factors， the relative expression ratio of p-NF- κB p65 and NF-κB p65 protein in nigrostriatal were increased or prolonged significantly （P＜0.05）； the target quadrant residence time， the content of DA in nigrostriatal， the expression level of TH in substantia nigra， the serum level of anti-inflammatory factor， and the expression level of SIRT1 protein in substantia nigra striatum were significantly decreased or shortened （P＜0.05）. Compared with model group， the damage degrees of neuron in sodium aescinate groups were alleviated， and the quantitative indicators were significantly improved， which were more significant in the high-dose group （P＜0.05）； EX527 could reverse the improvement effect of high-dose sodium aescinate （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Sodium aescinate can inhibit the activation of NF-κB signal by up-regulating the protein expression of SIRT1， thereby reducing the neuroinflammation of rats with Parkinson’s disease， improving the motor and cognitive dysfunctions， and finally playing a neuroprotective role.

Alpinia oxyphylla is mainly produced in Hainan,and also one of the four famous traditional Chinese medicines in South China with increasing importance in traditional Chinese medicine industry. Field surveys and literatures show that A. oxyphylla has widely used as a medicinal and edible plant,it is an important raw material for many Chinese patent medicines,health products and food,with a long history of artificial cultivation and application. The future development is prospected on health market. But A. oxyphylla industry has faced a lot of problems,including unreasonable planting layout,lack of good varieties,imperfect seed breeding system,low level of standardization,inconsistent quality of medicinal materials,low level of industry,and so on. The suggestions for sustainable development are listed below.First,it is essential to strengthen the research on the basis and application technology of A. oxyphylla,speed up the selection and breeding of improved varieties,and popularize standardized cultivation techniques. Secondly,it is important to strengthen the research on quality standards,improve the quality evaluation system of medicinal materials. Thirdly,it is necessary to take full advantage of the functional components to develop functional products with Hainan characteristics,find out the unique product characteristics of A. oxyphylla,build a famous brand and improve the product competitiveness in the market. It is also important to strengthen policy support and industrial supervision,promote the healthy and rapid development of A. oxyphylla industry.
Alpinia ; chemistry ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; trends ; Plant Breeding ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Seeds

Phytochemical investigation of the culture of Epicoccum nigrum,an endolichenic fungus inhabiting Leptogium masiaticum,led to the isolation of 11 compounds. Based on NMR spectroscopy and HRESIMS data,their structures were determined as one alkaloid fusaricide( 1),and seven benzofuran derivatives including epicoccone( 2),4,6-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-7-methyl-1,3-dihydro isobenzofuran( 3),5-methyl-epicoccone B( 4),3,6,7-trihydroxy-5-methoxy-4-methylisobenzo furan-1( 3 H)-one( 5),3-methoxyepicoccone B( 6),2,3,4-trihydroxy-6-( hydroxymethyl)-5-methylbenzyl-alcohol( 7),and isoochracinic acid( 8),together with three epicoccolide analogs epicocconigrones A( 9),epicoccolide B( 10),and epicocconigrones B( 11). Compounds 1,9 and 10 showed potent microorganism inhibitory effects. These results indicated the potential perspective of this endophytic fungus as an eco-friendly biocide.
Ascomycota/chemistry* ; Endophytes/chemistry* ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Secondary Metabolism

Chemical investigation on the rice culture of Corynespora cassiicola J9, an endophyte inhabiting in Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC. resulted in isolation of eight compounds, including a new depsidone derivative, corynether C (1), and seven analogues, corynether B (2), corynetherlactone A (3), corynether A (4), diaryl ether (5), corynesidone C (6), corynesidone D (7), and corynesidone A (8). Their structures were deduced based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and HR-ESI-MS data. All of the isolated compounds were evaluated for inhibitory activities against Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel by the leaf spray assay. Unfortunately, none of them showed inhibitory effects.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the imaging characteristics of F-FDG positron emission computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients and to analyze its application value in MM and bone metastases. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made on MM patients (n=72) and bone metastases patients (n=50) admitted to Hainan Western Central Hospital from January 2017 to March 2019. All patients underwent F-FDG PET/CT examination. The distribution of lesions, bone destruction, maximum standardized uptake (SUV) and metabolic homogeneity were analyzed in both groups. RESULTS: More than 80% of MM and bone metastases involved thoracic bone, spine and pelvis, followed by limbs. MM was more common in the lesions of thoracic bone and skull than those in bone metastases, the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). The majority of MM patients presented osteolytic bone destruction (97.2%), mostly showing "insect-like phagocytic pattern", so the bone showed dilated changes, and osteogenic changes were rarely seen (2.8%). Osteolytic bone destruction accounted for 74.0% in patients with bone metastatic tumor, presenting "focal" appearance more often, and osteogenic changes accounted for 26.0%. Osteolytic bone destruction in patients with MM was significantly higher than that in patients with bone metastases（χ=14.757，P＜0.05）. The SUV of MM (4.25±2.16)was significantly lower than that of bone metastases (7.84±3.25) (t=6.830, P＜0.05). Diffuse mild uptake of F-FDG was more common in patients with MM, and heterogeneous high uptake of F-FDG was more common in patients with bone metastasis, the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). CONCLUSION F-FDG PET/CT examination is helpful to acquire the imaging features of bone structure and metabolic changes, and shows an important clinical value in the differential diagnosis of MM and bone metastases.
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma ; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective: To investigate the effects and mechanisms of miR-126-5p on proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of colon cancer SW480 cells. Methods: Cells were transferred with miR-126 mimic and pcDNA Notch2 (pc-Notch2) respectively or simultaneously. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was performed to detect the expression of miR-126 and Notch2. The relationship of miR-126-5p and Notch2 was determined by luciferase reporter assay. The CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay, Transwell and flow cytometry were performed to examine cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis, respectively. The protein levels of Notch2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cleaved Caspase-3, metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 were measured by Western blotting. Results: miR-126 mimic significantly increased expression level of miR-126-5p but reduced the expression of Notch2 in SW480 cells (all P<0.01); in the meanwhile, a binding site with miR-126-5p was confirmed on Notch2. Up-regulating the expression of miR-126-5p inhibited cell proliferation and the expression of PCNA (P<0.01), increased the cell apoptosis rate and protein level of cleaved Caspase-3 notably (all P<0.01). Pc-Notch2 obviously alleviated the effects of miR-126 mimic on cell proliferation and apoptosis (all P<0.01). Furthermore, miR-126 mimic significantly decreased the wound healing rate and invasive cell numbers (all P<0.01), and down-regulated the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 (P<0.01); pc-Notch2 alleviated the effects of miR-126 mimic on cell migration, invasion and the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 (all P<0.01). Conclusion: miR-126-5p can attenuate proliferation, migration and invasive ability of colon SW480 cells via inhibiting the expression of Notch2.

In order to provide a theoretical basis for the regulation of active ingredient, the terpenoids metabolic pathway and specific enzymes in Blumea balsamifera are investigated. Basing on transcriptome information, B. balsamifera terpenoids metabolic pathway was analyzed in KEGG data base. Four metabolic pathway of terpenoids were found in KEGG data base. They were terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, monoterpenoid biosynthesis, diterpenoid biosynthesis, sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis, contained 103, 10, 29,59 genes, respectively. Through the analysis of the enzyme and product in the pathway, the result showed that there were 8 kinds of monoterpenes, 3 kinds of diterpenes, 3 kinds of triterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The mainly key enzymes were deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate synthase, HMG-CoA reductase and allyl transferase system. In B. balsamifera, there were relatively few monoterpenes synthetic enzymes, while the type of products was much more than other terpenes. This may be relate to the non-specific catalytic characteristic of monoterpene synthase. It is expected to improve the yield of terpenoids in B. balsamifera by analysis the pathways and regulation the key enzymes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the intra- and inter-scanner reproducibility of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) of cerebral subcortical nuclei in healthy adults. METHODS: QSM was performed in 21 healthy adults on two different 3.0T MR scanners, and the region of interest (ROI) method was used to measure the magnetic susceptibility value of the left subcortical nuclei (the head of the caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, thalamus, substantia nigra and red nucleus). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman method were used to evaluate the inter-scanner and intra-scanner reliability. RESULTS: The ICCs of the susceptibility value ranged from 0.90 to 0.99 for all the subcortical gray nuclei except for the head of the caudate nucleus measured on the same MR scanner by the same observer. Bland-Altman analysis revealed that the points with susceptibility differences for all the subcortical gray nuclei except for substantia nigra located in the 95% CI of limits of agreement for the same MR scanner. The ICCs of the susceptibility value for the inter-scanner was 0.49 (0.08-0.75) for the head of the caudate nuleus, 0.80 (0.57-0.91) for the putamen, 0.77 (0.51-0.90) for the globus pallidus, 0.78 (0.54-0.91) for the thalamus, 0.80 (0.56-0.91) for the substantia nigra and 0.93 (0.83-0.97) for the red nucleus. The points with susceptibility difference (95.2%, 20/21) located in the 95% CI of limits of agreement for the putamen and the thalamus measured on two different MR scanners. CONCLUSIONS The intra-scanner reproducibility of QSM of the subcortical gray nuclei is superior to the inter-scanner reproducibility in healthy adults.
Adult ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Gray Matter ; Humans ; Iron ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Reproducibility of Results ; Substantia Nigra/diagnostic imaging*

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed at analyzing the effect of genotype (G), environment (E) and their interactions (G x E) on the major bioactive components of 2-year licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) population, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the licorice breeding with high content of bioactive components and quality improvement.

METHODFour genotype licorice populations were transplanted under four different environments by using complete randomized block design with three replicates, and four major bioactive components, including glycyrrhizin (GL), total saponins (TS), liquiritin (LQ) and total flavonoids (TF) were determined by UV and by HPLC.

RESULTThe major bioactive components of licorice were influenced by genotype and environment, and the genotype had more effect on all of the bioactive components. The contents of GL and LQ were codetermined by genotype and environment factors.

CONCLUSIONThere exist different selective effects on different growth region for quality breeding in cultivated population of licorice.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Ecosystem ; Gene-Environment Interaction ; Genotype ; Glycyrrhiza uralensis ; chemistry ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; metabolism

Objective: To explore the application and effect of blended BOPPPS teaching mode in medical nursing teaching. Methods: A total of 80 nursing undergraduates of Grade 2014 in Hubei Medical University were divided randomly into teaching reform class and control class, with 40 students in each class. From February 2017 to July 2017, BOPPPS teaching was implemented in the teaching reform class, while traditional teaching was conducted in the control class. At the end of the experiment, Students in the two classes had questionnaire on the satisfaction of the teaching design, tests for self-learning ability and medical nursing level. SPSS 20.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Enumeration data between two classes were compared by chi-square test, while measurement data were compared by t test. Results: ①The number of students who were satisfied in the teaching reform class was 34 (85.0%), which was significantly higher than that of the control class (29, 72.5%). The difference has statistical significance. ② The self-learning dimensions and total score of the teaching reform class were (53.1±5.1), (52.4±4.8), (52.2±4.7), (51.9±4.7), (51.2±4.9) and (260.8±24.2), respectively, which were significantly higher than (48.6±4.3),(49.9±4.3), (49.7±4.1), (47.6±4.0), (47.1±3.9), and (242.9±20.6) of the control class. The differences were statistically significant (average P<0.05 or 0.01). ③The total scores (minutes) for regular assessments, theoretical examinations, and internal medicine education in the reform class were (26.1±2.3), (55.4±5.2), and (81.5±7.5) respectively, which was obviously higher than that(23.7±1.9), (52.6±4.6), (76.3±6.5) of the control class. The differences were statistically significant (average P<0.05 or 0.01). Conclusions The blended BOPPPS teaching focuses on the students, pays close attention to the students' attentiveness, participatory learning and goal achievement. This teaching model can improve students' satisfaction, self-learning ability and medical nursing study in a large extent.