Objective To study the diagnostic significance of the gray degree of lip-around and facial edge skin on the spleen-stomach symptoms.Methods With the International ColorCheck,160 cases of facial digital images were got from physical examination groups.The gray degree of the upper and lower lip-around and facial edge skin were judged.Questionnaires of spleen-stomach symptoms were also collected from the people.Results Logistic results showed that the dark upper lip-around skin were closely related with dry mouth,stomach pain,etc; the dark lower lip-around skin were closely related with hiccups,etc; the dark facial edge skin were closely related with bloating- afternoon,bad-breath,vomiting,cool-stomach,the thick white fur and so on.Conclusion The gray degree of lip-around and facial edge skin implied the status of the spleen and stomach function,which could be used as diagnostic indicators for spleen and stomach symptoms.

Objective To study the effect ofRunfei Zhisou Pills (RZP) on cell apoptosis in rat model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its mechanism.Methods Totally 32 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group,model group,1-month RZP group,and 3-month RZP group.Rats in 1-month and 3-month RZP group,received RZP of 0.9 g/kg once daily for 1 and 3 months respectively,and rats in control and model groups received water with equal volume for 1 month.The rat COPD model was established using tobacco smoke combined with intratracheal instillation of LPS.Morphological changes of lung tissue in COPD rats were observed with HE staining under light microscope.The VEGF levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected by ELISA.The VEGF and VEGFR2 protein expression in lung tissues was measured by Western blotting.Cell apoptosis in lung tissues was detected with TUNEL method,and apoptosis index (AI) was counted.Results Compared with control group,the pathological changes of lung tissue in model group were obvious,the AI significantly increased,VEGF in BALF and VEGF and VEGFR2 in lung tissue decreased significantly.Compared with model group,morphological improvement of lung tissue was obvious,the AI significantly decreased,and VEGF in BALF,VEGF and VEGFR2 in lung tissue increased significantly in 1-month and 3-month RZP groups.Conclusion RZP can inhibit cell apoptosis of COPD,and the mechanism may be related with up-regulation of VEGF and VEGFR2.

Objective:To study the incidence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and the gene carrying status of newborns in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guangxi for short), so as to provide theoretical basis for clinical genetic counseling and accurate diagnosis.Methods:A total of 63 606 newborns who underwent G6PD screening in Guangxi Neonatal Disease Screening Center from January 2017 to December 2018 were selected as study subjects; heel blood was collected to prepare dry blood spots. Fluorescence quantitative analysis was used in the preliminary screening, and the newborns with positive preliminary screening were recalled by telephone; further diagnosis was carried out via the G6PD/6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) ratio method and genetic testing, the diagnosis rate of the two methods of newborns with positive preliminary screening were compared and analyzed, and genetic mutation testing was conducted.Results:Among 63 606 newborns who underwent G6PD preliminary screening, 4 267 newborns with G6PD positive were detected, and the positive rate of preliminary screening was 6.7%. Among them, the positive rates of preliminary screening of males and females were 10.3% (3 508/33 988) and 2.6% (759/29 618), respectively. The positive rate of preliminary screening of males was significantly higher than that of females ( P < 0.01). A comparative analysis of 777 newborns (519 males and 258 females) that underwent G6PD/6PGD ratio method and genetic testing at the same time as the recall showed that the diagnosis rate of the two methods for male newborns was the same, both of which were 95.6% (496/519). Among female newborns, 168 and 236 confirmed cases were detected by G6PD/6PGD ratio method and genetic testing, respectively, and the diagnosis rates were 65.1% (168/258) and 91.5% (236/258), respectively. The results of genetic mutation testing showed that the five common genotypes in Guangxi were c.1388 G>A, c.1376 G>T, c.95 A>G, c.871 G>A, and c.1024 C>T, respectively. Conclusions:The positive rate of G6PD preliminary screening of newborns in Guangxi is relatively high. It is recommended that G6PD/6PGD ratio method and genetic testing should be performed at the same time for diagnosis of female newborns with positive preliminary screening to avoid missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis.

CRISPR/Cas9 has been widely used in engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae for gene insertion, replacement and deletion due to its simplicity and high efficiency. The selectable markers of CRISPR/Cas9 systems are particularly useful for genome editing and Cas9-plasmids removing in yeast. In our previous research, GAL80 gene has been deleted by the plasmid pML104-mediated CRISPR/Cas9 system in an engineered yeast, in order to eliminate the requirement of galactose supplementation for induction. The maximum artemisinic acid production by engineered S. cerevisiae 1211-2 (740 mg/L) was comparable to that of the parental strain 1211 without galactose induction. Unfortunately, S. cerevisiae 1211-2 was inefficient in the utilization of the carbon source ethanol in the subsequent 50 L pilot fermentation experiment. The artemisinic acid yield in the engineered S. cerevisiae 1211-2 was only 20%-25% compared with that of S. cerevisiae 1211. The mutation of the selection marker URA3 was supposed to affect the growth and artemisinic acid production. A ura3 mutant was successfully restored by a recombinant plasmid pML104-KanMx4-u along with a 90 bp donor DNA, resulting in S. cerevisiae 1211-3. This mutant could grow normally in a fed-batch fermentor with mixed glucose and ethanol feeding, and the final artemisinic acid yield (> 20 g/L) was comparable to that of the parental strain S. cerevisiae 1211. In this study, an engineered yeast strain producing artemisinic acid without galactose induction was obtained. More importantly, it was the first report showing that the auxotrophic marker URA3 significantly affected artemisinic acid production in a pilot-scale fermentation with ethanol feeding, which provides a reference for the production of other natural products in yeast chassis.
Artemisinins ; Fermentation ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolism* ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/metabolism*