OBJECTIVEIn order to provide scientific basis for introduction breeding and production regionalization of Panax notoginseng, the environment of producing area, agronomic traits and medicinal material output were investigated.

METHODUsing field survey sampling at harvest time, agronomic traits indicators of leaf segment, stem segment and roots segment etc. of commodity P. notoginseng, longitude and latitude, elevation, soil type, landform of producing area were measured and observed.

RESULTThe P. notogiseng cultivation was expanding from traditional area like Wenshang to new areas as Honghe, Kunming, Qujing at large scale. Comparing with traditional cultivated fields, the elevation of new fields, which are red soil of moderate or low mountain slopes and gentle hills between 1 800-2 130 m, increases markedly. The agronomic traits of new cultivated fields such as plant height, stem diameter, the ground and underground biomass were better than those of traditional cultivated fields in varying degree. Furthermore, the root weight, taproot weight, taproot length and other agronomic index augmented more than 20%. Comparison among different cultivated fields showed P. notoginseng of Honghe Shiping Niujie, Kunming Shilin Guishan, Honghe Jiangshui Guanting etc. had better agronomic traits, the plant were thick and tall, the taproot and the top of reed were large, the number of root was more. Inversely, P. notoginseng of Kunming Guandu Xiaoshao, Guangxi Jingxi Lutong, Wenshang Yanshan Jiangna were thin and small. Cluster analysis showed that cultivated fields of P. notoginseng which was across clustered by traditional and new cultivated fields can be divided into three groups, including a high-yielding region insist of three new cultivated fields Honghe Shiping Niujie, Kunming Shilin Guishan, Honghe Jiangshui Guanting and one traditional cultivated field Wenshan Yanshan Jiangna. Correlation analysis indicated that the size and weight of taproot and top of reed were significantly positive correlated with plant height, stem diameter, leaf size, leaf weight and stem weight. Regression analysis pointed out that stem diameter, leaf width, leaf length/width, leaf weight were the main factors affecting the dry weight of taproot, and the main factors influencing the dry weight of top of reed were plant height, petiole, leaf length, leaf width and other agronomic traits.

CONCLUSIONFrom agronomic traits, P. notoginseng in new cultivated fields were more robust than that in traditional fields, but besides the length of taproot, the difference of rest agronomic traits didn't reach the significant level. It is suggested that, in the west and the north of traditional area, the red soil land of moderate or low mountain slopes and gentle hills where the elevation is between 1 800-2 130 m is suitable for cultivating P. notoginseng. Honghe Shiping Niujie, Honghe Jianshui Guanting, Kuming Shilin Gongshan can be used as vital development area for commodity P. notoginseng.

Agriculture ; methods ; Breeding ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Panax notoginseng ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; growth & development ; Quality Control ; Quantitative Trait Loci ; Soil ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo identify the risk factors for death in children with septic shock.

METHODSClinical data of 53 children with septic shock admitted to the Yuying Children's Hospital between January 2006 and July 2008 were retrospectively studied. Risk factors for death were assessed using univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSNineteen cases died out of 53 children with septic shock. Univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis showed that arterial blood pH value<7.0 (OR=89.66), hypotension (OR=84.00), the pediatric critical illness score<70 (OR=60.00), the number of organ dysfunction>or=3 (OR=38.98), incompletion of volume resuscitation within 6 hrs after shock (OR=26.41), and no administration of effective antibiotics within 1 hr after shock (OR=11.43) and of vasoactive drugs (OR=75.68) were risk factors for death in children with septic shock.

CONCLUSIONSA low arterial blood pH value (<7.0), hypotension, a pediatric critical illness score (<70) and the number of organ dysfunction>or=3 are related to a high mortality in children with septic shock. If the volume resuscitation can be completed within 6 hrs after shock, effective antibiotics can be administered within 1 hr after shock, and vasoactive drugs can be used properly, the outcome of children with septic shock may be improved.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Infant ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Shock, Septic ; metabolism ; mortality

OBJECTIVETo evaluate prospectively the efficacy and clinical significance of ultrasonography (US), helical computed tomography (HCT), endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in assessing locoregional invasion to the surrounding tissue or organs of primary pancreatic carcinoma.

METHODSSixty-eight consecutive patients with pancreatic carcinoma underwent US, HCT, EUS and MRI examinations before surgical exploration. All imaging results in terms of tumor size and locoregional invasion were assessed separately by two diagnostic radiologists and compared with the surgical and pathological findings.

RESULTSAmong the HCT, US, EUS and MRI examinations, EUS had the highest accuracy in assessing tumor size with a regression coefficient for the maximal and minimal diameter of 1.0250 (P = 0.0426) and 0.9873 (P < 0.0001), respectively. In the assessment of locoregional invasion to the surrounding tissue or organs, EUS also had the highest accuracy (75.8%) and sensitivity (80.0%), but MRI had the highest positive predicting value (97.4%). None of these four imaging techniques was significantly correlated with the surgical findings when analyzed by univariate logistic regression.

CONCLUSIONEndoscopic ultrasonography may be the most useful imaging technique in assessing tumor size, but for assessing loco-regional invasion of primary pancreatic carcinoma, combination of more than one imaging techniques may be necessary.

Adult ; Aged ; Diagnostic Imaging ; methods ; Endosonography ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; pathology ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Prospective Studies ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; Tumor Burden

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of a high-carbohydrate diet on the lipid and apolipoprotein ratios in healthy young adults with different genotypes of the polymorphism at -75 site in the promoter region of the gene of apolipoprotein AI (APOA1).

METHODSFifty-six subjects aged (22.89 +/- 1.80) years were given a wash-out diet for 7 days, followed by a high-carbohydrate diet for 6 days. The wash-out diet contained 15% protein, 31% fat, and 54% carbohydrate. The high-carbohydrate diet contained 15% protein, 15% fat, and 70% carbohydrate. Twelve-hour fasting serum lipids and apolipoproteins B100 and AI were measured on the mornings of the 1st, the 8th, and the 14th days from the beginning of the wash-out diet. The ratios of triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)/HDL-C, and apolipoprotein B100 (APOB100)/apolipoprotein AI (APOAI) were calculated. The genome DNA was extracted and the polymorphism of APOA1 -75 G/A was determined by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism assay.

RESULTSAt baseline, the lipid and apolipoprotein ratios showed no significant differences between the GG genotype and the A carriers in males (P > 0.05), whereas the female A carriers had a significantly higher ratio of LDL-C/ HDL-C compared with the female subjects with the GG genotype (P < 0.05). Following the high-carbohydrate diet, significant decreases of TC/HDL-C were found in all the groups, regardless of sex and genotype (P < 0.01). LDL-C/HDL-C experienced significant decreases in both the genotypes in males (P < 0.05), while in females, significant decrease of LDL-C/HDL-C was only observed in A carriers (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe A allele of the -75 G/A polymorphism in APOA1 may have specific effects on the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio in females.

Adult ; Apolipoprotein A-I ; genetics ; Apolipoproteins ; blood ; Dietary Carbohydrates ; metabolism ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between multi-trace elements levels in hair and human neural tube defects as well as other risk factors.

METHODSUsing 88 paired cases and controls, an 1:1 matched case control study was carried out. The study subjects were collected from the China-U. S. Collaborative Project on Neural Tube Defects Prevention and Birth Defects Surveillance System. Risk factors were obtained by field investigation with standardized questionnaires and hair trace elements levels were determined by AAS and ICP-MS methods. Microwave digestion was used to digest hair samples. The detected elements would include three groups, namely nutritional elements: Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn, Co, Mo; toxic elements: Pb, As, Cd, Hg; and Lanthanons: Y, La, Pr, Nd. Cox Proportional Hazard Regression Model was used to perform risk factors analysis.

RESULTSPregnancy fever appeared to be a risk factor of neural tube defects (OR = 6.525, P = 0.034) while hair zinc level (OR = 0.541 microg/100 g, P = 0.02) and times of prenatal physical examination (OR = 0.634, P < 0.001) served as two protective factors appeared in the last model.

CONCLUSIONZinc deficiency might serve as a risk factor for human neural tube defects, suggesting that the avoidance of pregnancy infection together with more periodical prenatal physical examination might reduce the incidence of neural tube defects.

Adult ; Analysis of Variance ; Case-Control Studies ; Diet ; Female ; Hair ; metabolism ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Neural Tube Defects ; etiology ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; metabolism ; Prenatal Care ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Trace Elements ; metabolism

Objective:To investigate the regulatory effects of mitofusin 1 (MFN1) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced Raw264.7 mouse macrophages pyroptosis and to provide reference for further study on the prevention of inflammation and fibrosis caused by macrophage dysfunction.Methods:Raw264.7 mouse macrophages were cultured in vitro and used to construct a model of LPS-induced pyroptosis. CCK-8 staining, PI staining, LDH release assay and Western blot were used to verify the Raw264.7 pyroptosis induced by LPS. MFN1 expression was detected by Western blot. DCFH-DA probe was used to detect the synthesis of total reactive oxygen species (ROS); Mito-SOX was used to detect mitochondrial ROS; JC-1 mitochondrial membrane potential was detected by fluorescence probe to reflect mitochondrial damage. Based on Ubibrowser database, it was predicted that MFN1 could bind to a variety of E3 ubiquitin ligases. Then, immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP) were used to analyze MFN1 ubiquitination. An overexpression plasmid for MFN1 was constructed and transfected into Raw264.7 cells to detect the changes in pyroptosis and mitochondrial function. Results:LPS could induce the pyroptosis of Raw264.7 cells and mitochondrial dysfunction. MFN1 expression was decreased after LPS stimulation. Ubiquitinated MFN1 was detected by CO-IP. Ubiquitination inhibitor MG-132 inhibited LPS-induced expression of pyroptosis-related proteins including NLRP3, Pro-caspase-1, Caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 and improved mitochondrial function. MFN1 overexpression relieved the mitochondrial dysfunction and pyroptosis of Raw264.7 cells induced by LPS.Conclusions:The ubiquitination of MFN1 induced by LPS was involved in mitochondrial dysfunction and macrophage pyroptosis, suggesting that MFN1 was a potential target for the treatment of macrophage-induced inflammation and related diseases.

Objective:To explore effect of Glioma-associated oncogene family zinc finger 1(GLI1)on hypoxia induced trans-formation of NR8383 to M1 phenotype and development of pulmonary hypertension(PH).Methods:Fifteen adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group,hypoxia PH model group and hypoxic PH with GANT61 treatment group,with 5 rats in each group.PH related indexes of rats were detected by small animal ultrasound and right cardiac catheter experiment to determine effect of GLI1 specific inhibitor GANT61 on progression of PH.Pulmonary arterial thickness was measured by HE staining.α-SMA and M1 polarization markers TNF-α and IL-1β expressions were determined by immunohistochemistry.M1 polarization markers CD86 and TNF-α expressions were determined by immunofluorescence.GLI1 expression and NF-κB protein were detected by Western blot.mRNA expressions of iNOS,CD86,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-12 were detected by qRT-PCR.CHIP-PCR verified that GLI1 regulates NF-κB promoter activity.IL-12 content was detected by ELISA.Rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells proliferation was detected by CCK-8.Results:GLI1 inhibitor GANT61 could alleviate symptoms of PH in hypoxic rats(P<0.05).Compared with hypoxic group,inhibition of GLI1 reduced expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β in rat lung tissue(P<0.05).In cell experiments,hypoxia induced M1 polarization of NR8383 by up-regulating GLI1 to activate NF-κB pathway,GLI1 overexpression increased expressions of iNOS,CD86,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-12 in M1 macrophages(P<0.05).NR8383 culture supernatants could stimulate pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation(P<0.05)and contribute to development of PH.Conclusion:Hypoxia activates NF-κB pathway by up-regulating GLI1 to induce M1 polarization of macrophages contributes to development of PH.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the use of antibiotics in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in multiple regions of China, and to provide a reference for CAP standard treatment and rational antibiotic use in children. METHODS: The medical data of 1 383 children with CAP who were hospitalized in the department of pediatrics in 10 grade A tertiary hospitals from 9 cities between April 14, 2014 and January 1, 2016 were reviewed, to analyze the status of antibiotic use in hospitalized children in North China, Northeast China, East China, and South China. RESULTS: The overall rate of antibiotic use in children with CAP was 89.08%, with 88.7% in North China, 95.5% in Northeast China, 83.3% in East China, and 86.6% in South China. The main types of antibiotics used were cephalosporins, macrolides, compound preparations of β-lactam antibiotics, polyphosphoric broad-spectrum antibiotics and other β-lactam antibiotics. The selection of antibiotics was generally rational, but antibiotics were still used in some patients with viral infection alone or a combined use of ≥2 kinds of antibiotics were noted in some patients with infection caused by one kind of pathogen. Irrational antibiotic use was observed in 131 children (10.63%). CONCLUSIONS There are high rates of antibiotic use and irrational use of antibiotics among children with CAP. Standard management of antibiotic use in children with CAP should be strengthened.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Hospitalized ; China ; Community-Acquired Infections ; drug therapy ; Humans

Background:The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that the use of morcellation may cause fibroids or pelvic dissemination and metastasis of uterine sarcoma;therefore,the use of morcellation is limited in the USA.A large sample study is necessary to assess the proportion of uterine malignant tumors found in patients with laparoscopic myomectomy.Methods:A national multicenter study was performed in China.From 2002 to 2014,33,723 cases were retrospectively selected.We calculated the prevalence and recorded the clinical characteristics of the patients with malignancy after morcellation application.A total of 62 cases were finally pathologically confirmed as malignant postoperatively.Additionally,the medical records of the 62 patients were analyzed in details.Results:The proportion of postoperative malignancy after morcellation application was 0.18％ (62/33,723) for patients who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy.Nearly 62.9％ (39/62) of patients had demonstrated blood flow signals in the uterine fibroids before surgery.And,23 (37.1％) patients showed rapid growth at the final preoperative ultrasound.With respect to the pathological types,38 (61.3％) patients had detectable endometrial stromal sarcoma,13 (21.0％) had detectable uterine leiomyosarcoma,only 3 (3.2％) had detectable carcinosarcoma,and 5 (8.1％) patients with leiomyoma had an undetermined malignant potential.Conclusions:The proportion of malignancy is low after using morcellation in patients who undergo laparoscopic myomectomy.Patients with fast-growing uterine fibroids and abnormal ultrasonic tumor blood flow should be considered for malignant potential,and morcellation should be avoided.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the possible effects of apolipoprotein A1 gene (APOA1) rs670 and rs5069 polymorphisms on plasma lipid profiles in healthy adolescents with different body mass index (BMI).

METHODSTotally 723 adolescents were divided into four groups according to their BMI: group 1[BMI =(17.80 ± 0.75)kg/m2], group 2[BMI = (19.39 ± 0.32) kg/m²], group 3[BMI = (20.68 ± 0.43) kg/m²], and group 4[BMI=(23.40 ± 2.05) kg/m²]. Height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, blood pressure, heart rate, plasma lipids, and blood glucose were determined, BMI and waist to hip ratio (W/H ratio) were calculated,and genome DNA was extracted for analyzing the genotypes of the APOA1 rs670 and rs5069 polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.

RESULTSNo significant differences in height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, W/H ratio, blood pressure, heart rate, plasma lipids, and blood glucose between APOA1 rs670 or rs5069 genotypes were observed among group 1, group 2, and group 3. In group 4, A carriers of the rs670 polymorphism had significantly higher systolic blood pressure (P=0.017) and blood glucose levels (P=0.009) than the adolescents with the GG genotype. T carriers of the rs5069 polymorphism had significantly higher height (P=0.013), weight (P=0.011), and hip circumference (P=0.026) than the adolescents with the CC genotype.

CONCLUSIONSIn healthy adolescents with higher BMI, APOA1 rs670 polymorphism is associated with systolic blood pressure and blood glucose levels. The elevation of systolic blood pressure and blood glucose levels in A carriers of APOA1 rs670 polymorphism may be favorably modulated by weight loss.

Adolescent ; Apolipoprotein A-I ; genetics ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Humans ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic