OBJECTIVETo study the patterns of dynamic accumulation of total flavonoids and total saponins in the roots of Ophiopogon japonicus collected from different harvest times, and compare the contents of total flavonoids and total saponins in roots of O. japonicus which were processed with different methods.

METHODThe total flavonoids and total saponins contents in O. japonicus were determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONFrom December to January, the total contents of flavonoids and saponins in the roots of O. japonicus gradually decreased, and gradually increased from February to March, and kept stable in April. The contents of total flavonoids and total saponins in the O. japonicus were influenced by different processing methods.

Desiccation ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; metabolism ; Ophiopogon ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Saponins ; analysis ; metabolism ; Seasons ; Temperature ; Time Factors

Objective: To understand the potential viral pathogens other than enteroviruses existing in samples of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) patient and study their molecular feature and genotype. Methods: The deep sequencing analysis of a fecal specimen collected from HFMD patient was conducted by metagenomics and bioinformatics. Results: Enterovirus A71 and sapovirus mixed infection was found in this case. The nucleic acid of sapovirus was confirmed positive by RT-PCR and the 7 429 bp complete genome sequence of sapovirus was obtained by assembling sequencing reads which consisted of 3 open reading frames. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this strain of virus should belong to the genotype 1 of sapovirus having a homology of 99.4% with sapovirus Hu/G1/Zhejiang1/China/2014 strain, which is a currently predominant genotype circulating in China. Conclusions The sapovirus, which is a predominant strain circulating in China, was a mixed infected causative agent existing in HFMD sample identified by deep sequencing. This study will serve as a reference for pathogen detection of HFMD and diarrheal related diseases, as well as provide a sequence reference for molecular feature study of sapovirus in China in the future.

Objective:To explore the expression and importance of Piezo1, E-cadherin, and Vimentin in nasal polyps patients. Methods:Thirty-five patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery under general anesthesia were streamed into 20 cases of nasal polyps（NP group） and 15 cases of simple septoplasty without any sinus disease（Control group）. Immunofluorescence staining and Western Blot were applied to detect the protein level of Piezo1, E-cadherin, and Vimentin in NP tissues and nasal polyp-derived primary human nasal epithelial cells（pHNECs）. Also, BEAS-2B cell lines were treated with human TGF-β1 protein to establish epithelial mesenchymal transition（EMT） model in vitro and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to calculate Piezo1 and above biomarkers in the model. Results:Compared with control group, Piezo1 and Vimentin showed higher level while E-cadherin was lower in NP tissues and pHNECs.In EMT model in vitro, Piezo1 and Vimentin were demonstrated higher expression with decreased level of E-cadherin. Conclusion:The tendency of Piezo1 is consistent with the mesenchymal-related biomarker Vimentin, going against with epithelial-related biomarker E-cadherin, implying its involvement with EMT process in nasal polyps.
Humans ; Biomarkers/metabolism* ; Cadherins/metabolism* ; Chronic Disease ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Nasal Polyps/metabolism* ; Rhinosinusitis ; Sinusitis ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/metabolism* ; Vimentin/metabolism*

Objective: To investigate the pathogenic characteristics of viral encephalitis in children living in Hebei province. Methods: We randomly collected cerebrospinal fluid specimens from a total of 399 children diagnosed with viral encephalitis in Hebei Children′s Hospital from May to December 2017. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Sanger sequencing were used to detect viral nucleic acids in cerebrospinal fluid by an automatic laboratory station. Statistical analysis was performed on the experimental data using SPSS 21.0 software and the clinical data were analyzed. Comparison of infection rates of EV encephalitis in different months, using line × column chi-square test. The MRI and EEG positive rates of different viral encephalitis and viral encephalitis patients not infected with the virus were analyzed by Fisher′s exact probability test. The positive rate of infection with different viruses and non-virus agents was analyzed by Fisher′s exact probability test. Results: The result showed that 80 of 399 samples were positive, and the positive rate was 20.05%. It included 22 cases of enterovirus, 4 cases of influenza A virus, 3 cases of mumps virus, 2 cases of herpes simplex virus type 1, 1 case of herpes simplex virus type 2, 4 cases of EB virus, 7 cases of cytomegalovirus, 7 cases of herpes zoster virus, 8 cases of adenovirus, 14 cases of human herpesvirus type 6. Eight cases had combined viral infection. Eight cases had concurrent infections: 3 cases had enterovirus and herpesvirus type 6 concurrent infection, 1 case had enterovirus and Japanese encephalitis virus concurrent infection and 1 case had herpes simplex virus type 2 and adenovirus, 1 case had influenza A virus herpesvirus type 6, 1 case had mumps virus and herpesvirus type 6, 1 case had mumps virus and herpesvirus type 6, 1 case had herpes simplex virus type 1 and herpes zoster virus concurrent infections. Children with EV viral encephalitis in Hebei Province were highly prevalent in May and June (P=0.016). HHV6 virus encephalitis was more susceptible to infection than non-HHV6 virus (P=0.016); The rate of MRI positive findings in patients with different viral encephalitis was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The result of EEG of different viral encephalitis were P>0.05, which was not statistically significant. Conclusions EV was the most common pathogen of children with viral encephalitis in Hebei province. Encephalitis caused by influenza A virus cannot be ignored in clinical practice.