The aim of the study is to investigate chemical constituents of the leaves of Pieris japonica. The isolation and purification of the constituents were performed by various chromatography and spectral analysis. Three new phenolic glucosides, erythro-syringoylglycerol 4-O-β-D-glucoside (1),1-(2-β-D-glucopyranoxyl-4-methoxyl-6-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxyl-1-propanone (3),erythro-1-(4-hydroxyl-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-[4-(3-β-D-glucopyranoxypropyl)-2,6-dimethoxyphenoxy]-1,3-propanediol (4), along with five known phenolic glucosides, syringoylglycerol 8-O-β-D-glucoside (2), magnolenin C (5), syringaresinol mono-β-D-glucoside (6), 3-(4-hydroxyl-3-methyphenyl)-1-propanol-1-O-β-D-glucoside (7) and 3,5-dimethoxyl-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 4-O-β-D-glucoside (8) were isolated and identified from the plant leaves. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibited significantly (P<0.01) the proliferation of murine T and B cells at concentration of 1×10-6 mol·L-1, in vitro.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration ( EUS-FNA) on malignant lesions in gastrointestinal adjacent tissue, and further to analyze the risk factors influencing positive rate of EUS-FNA. Methods The clinical data of 171 patients undergoing EUS-FNA from January 2009 to May 2016 were collected. The lesion location, size and characteristics, the number of needle passes, puncture suction negative pressure, size of puncture needle, and years of operator experience in EUS were retrospectively analyzed. Results The overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of malignant lesions were 78. 3％ ( 83/106) , 100. 0％ ( 65/65) , and 86. 5％( 148/171) , respectively. The univariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the risk factors of EUS-FNA were lesion location, lesion characteristics, and lesion size. In multivariate analysis, larger lesion size ( OR=1. 029, 95％CI: 1. 011-1. 047, P=0. 001) and lesion characteristics of solid ( OR=5. 098, 95％CI:1. 324-19. 633, P=0. 018) were independent factors affecting the positive rate of EUS-FNA. Among 171 cases performed by EUS-FNA, the incidence of postoperative complications was 1. 75％ ( 3/171 ) included 2 cases of fever and 1 case of acute pancreatitis, which were improved after conservative treatment. Conclusion EUS-FNA is a safe and effective method of cytological and histological diagnosis with high accuracy and sensitivity, importantly in distinguish malignancy from benign lesion in gastrointestinal adjacenttissue. Positive rate of diagnosis on malignant lesions by EUS-FNA is positively correlated with lesion size, and EUS-FNA positive rate of solid malignant lesions is significantly higher than that of cystic lesions.

BACKGROUND: There is no report on the treatment of suppurative discitis with posterior microendoscopic discectomy, antibiotic artificial bone implantation and one-stage percutaneous pedicle screw fixation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of posterior microendoscopic debridement, antibiotic artificial bone implantation and one-stage percutaneous pedicle screw fixation for pyogenic spondylodiscitis. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with suppurative discitis admitted at the Department of Spinal Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from January 2014 to December 2017, including 17 males and 14 females, aged 28-78 years, were included. All the patients underwent posterior microendoscopic lesion clearance and antibiotic artificial bone grafting and one-stage percutaneous pedicle screw fixation. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels were detected at postoperative follow-up. The Visual Analog Scale and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores were used for detection. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) All the surgical operations of the 31 patients were successfully completed and all patients had immediate relief of low back pain and lower extremity radiation pain. They were able to move ground wearing a waistband at 1-4 days postoperatively. (2) Thirty-one patients were followed up for 9-18 months. All patients had a significant decrease in C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate at 1 week after surgery, and C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were in the normal range at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. (3) The Visual Analog Scale scores of all patients at 1 week of follow-up were significantly lower than those before surgery (P < 0.05) , and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores were significantly higher than those before surgery (P < 0.05) . (4) In the follow-up examination of CT and MRI, there was no recurrence, pseudoarticular formation or internal fixation loosening. (5) These results suggest that posterior microendoscopic discectomy, antibiotic artificial bone implantation combined with one-stage percutaneous pedicle screw fixation for treating suppurative discitis can result in little trauma, few bleeding and rapid pain relief, and patients can move to the ground early. The operation method has a good clinical effect.

As a powerful tool to advance drug discovery, molecular imaging may provide new insights into the process of drug effect and therapy at cellular and molecular levels. When compared with other detection methods, fluorescence-based strategies are highly attractive and can be used to illuminate pathways of drugs' transport, with multi-color capacity, high specificity and good sensitivity. The conjugates of fluorescent molecules and therapeutic agents create exciting avenues for real-time monitoring of drug delivery and distribution, both in vitro and in vivo. In this short review, we discuss recent developments of small molecule-based fluorophore-drug conjugates, including non-cleavable and cleavable ones, that are capable of visualizing drug delivery.

OBJECTIVETo identify the predictive factors for differentiating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) from other neoplastic solid pancreatic lesions and assess the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) for diagnosis of PDAC.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients referred for EUS-FNA evaluation of pancreatic lesions in the Digestive Endoscopic Center of Nanfang Hospital between January, 2009 and May, 2016. The cases with unknown diagnosis, missing data, repeated punctures, cystic lesions and benign lesions were excluded from the analysis. The positivity rates of EUS-FNA were compared between patients with PDAC and those with non-PDAC lesions, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of EUS-FNA were assessed in the diagnosis of PDAC. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors for differentiating PDAC from non-PDAC lesions based on the demographic characteristics, clinical presentations, laboratory data, and endoscopic ultrasonography imaging features of the patients.

RESULTSAmong the 75 patients with solid neoplastic pancreatic lesions, 54 (72.0%) were found to have PDAC and 21 (28.0%) had non-PDAC lesions. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of EUS-FNA for the diagnosis of PDAC were 77.8%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 63.6% and 84.0%, respectively. No significant difference was found in the positivity rate of EUS-FNA between patients with PDAC and those with non-PDAC lesions (77.8% 76.2%, > 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis identified abdominal pain (=5.163, 95%: 1.093-24.389, =0.038), lesion size (=0.926, 95%: 0.877-0.978, =0.006), characteristics of the solid lesions (=7.105, 95%: 1.440-35.043, =0.016), and evidence of metastases (=6.165, 95%: 1.332-28.533, =0.020) as the independent factors for predicting PDAC.

CONCLUSIONSThe pretest characteristics including abdominal pain, evidence of metastases, and lesion size and lesion characteristics defined by endoscopic ultrasonography findings can reliably predict a diagnosis of PDAC. EUS-FNA has a high sensitivity and a high specificity for the diagnosis of PDAC.