for the determination of aconitine, mesaconitine and hypaconitine in root tuber of sevral species of Aconitum plants and related proprietary medicines. With the use of the optimized instrumental conditions and the Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) technique, good linearity was obtained for the alkaloids in concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 40 mg/L. The method was applied to the analysis of 14 samples of various species of Aconitum plants and 10 different proprietary medicine samples

Objective Investigating the CT features and related prognostic factors of high-grade renal clear cell carcinoma.Methods The data of 141 patients with renal clear cell carcinoma treated by radical nephrectomy in our hospital from November 2012 to April 2017 were analyzed retrospectively.There were 102 males and 39 females.Age from 30 to 86 years old.The tumors were located in the left side in 73 cases and 68 in the right.The tumor size ranged from 1.6 cm to 12.7 cm.50 cases of clinical stage T1a,stage T1b 67 cases,24 cases above T2.All patients had CT examination before operation.According to the postoperative pathological nuclear grade,patients were divided into high grade group (Ⅲ-Ⅳ) and low grade group (grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ),clinical data and CT findings were compared between the two groups (tumor size,capsule,CT,with or without leafs,with or without hemorrhagic necrosis),survival situation after the operation.Result The results of CT examination of 141 cases of this study indicated there were 109 cases of complete capsule,85 cases of tumor showed lobulation,102 cases of tumor showed hemorrhagic necrosis,the average CT value is 10-72 HU,35.4 HU in average;enhanced CT value is 32-308 HU,102.1 HU in average.After pathological examination,the nuclear classification was 66 cases in high grade group and 75 cases in low grade group.The CT examination in thc high grade group and the low grade group showed the number of cases with complete capsule [44 cases (33.3％) vs.65 cases (13.3％)] and plain CT scan value [(38.9 ± 1.1) HU) vs.(32.3 ± 1.1) HU],the difference was statistically of significance (P ＜0.01).The high level of patients in group T1 and group above T2 stage were 46 cases and 20 cases.And the cases of low grade group were 71 cases and 4 cases,there was significant difference between two groups (P ＜ 0.01).The 141 cases were followed up for 2-58 months,with an average of 26.4 months.There was statistical significance difference between the two groups of T1 patients and patients above T2 (P ＜ 0.01).The results of CT examination were compared.There were significant differences in the case of intact capsule and the value of CT scan (P ＜ 0.01).The overall survival rate between the two groups was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The CT examination of high-grade renal cell carcinoma shows that most of the capsule is not complete and the CT value of the scan is much higher.The pathological grading of renal cell careinoma indicates the malignancy of tumor cells,which is closely related to prognosis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Several studies have demonstrated that sleep problems are associated with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs): irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia, etc, but the relationship between excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and FGIDs has not been systematically studied in the general population. This study aims to explore the relationship between EDS and specific types of FGIDs and the effect of the number of FGIDs on EDS. METHODS: A sample of 3600 individuals (aged 18–80 years) was selected from 5 regions in China using a randomized, stratified, multi-stage sampling method. EDS was measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, while gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and other FGIDs were assessed by Reflux Disease Questionnaire and the Rome II diagnostic criteria, respectively. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 2906 individuals (response rate: 80.72%), and 644 individuals (22.16%) had EDS. EDS was significantly associated with ulcer-like dyspepsia (OR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.08–5.79), diarrhea-predominant IBS (OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.09–3.66), alternating IBS (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.30–4.13), functional constipation (OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.20–2.35), and GERD (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.08–2.72). Risk of EDS increased along with the increasing numbers of FGIDs: with 1 FGID (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.37–2.15); with 2 FGIDs (OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.63–3.62); and with 3 or more FGIDs (OR, 3.26; 95% CI, 1.37–7.78). CONCLUSIONS: FGIDs, such as ulcer-like dyspepsia, diarrhea-predominant IBS, alternating IBS, functional constipation, and GERD, were significantly associated with EDS. Those who suffered from more kinds of FGIDs were more susceptible to EDS.
China* ; Constipation ; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence ; Dyspepsia ; Epidemiology ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Gastrointestinal Diseases* ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Methods

Objective:To reevaluate the upper limit of normal (ULN) of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) by retrospectively analyzing the ALT levels in healthy people in Ningbo area.Methods:A total of 56 140 people who underwent health examination and detection of liver biochemical indexes in the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Ningbo University and Yinzhou Huamao Hospital of Ningbo from 2018 to 2020 were enrolled. After excluding relevant factors that may lead to liver injury, 11 411 people were included to compare the difference of serum ALT levels among different genders and age groups (20 to 29 years, 30 to 39 years, 40 to 49 years and 50 to 59 years) to determine the ALT ULN in different gender groups. Statistical methods were performed using two independent samples t test and analysis of variance. Results:The serum ALT of males was (19.20±7.90) U/L, which was higher than that of females ((13.75±6.17) U/L), with statistical significance ( t=41.16, P<0.001). The serum ALT ULN in males and in females were 35 U/L and 26 U/L, respectively. The serum ALT levels of 20 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and 50 to 59 years old groups were (15.48±7.61) U/L, (16.21±7.40) U/L, (17.36±7.52) U/L and (18.77±7.57) U/L, respectively.The difference was statistically significant ( F=71.51, P<0.001). Serum ALT level in 50 to 59 years old group was higher than that in 20 to 29 years old group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=13.11, P<0.01). In males, the ALT ULN of 20 to 29 years old was the lowest of 34.43 U/L, and highest of 35.29 U/L in 40 to 49 years old. In females, the ALT ULN in the 20 to 29 years old group was the lowest of 23.01 U/L, and the ALT ULN in the 50 to 59 years old group was the highest of 30.79 U/L. ALT ULN increased with age in females. The serum ALT of males was higher than that of females in all age groups ( t=29.55, 26.91, 13.43 and 4.62, respectively, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The serum ALT level is significantly correlated to gender and age. The serum ALT ULNs of healthy adult are 35 U/L in males and 26 U/L in females in Ningbo area.

Objective:To investigate the value of pulse oxygen saturation (SpO 2) monitoring in predicting children with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods:It was a retrospective study involving 341 children with snoring during nighttime sleep who had visited the Children′s Hospital of Soochow University from June 2017 to November 2020 and monitored for polysomnography (PSG) and SpO 2.The SpO 2 parameters mainly included oxygen desaturation index (ODI), oxygen desaturation index ≥3% (ODI3), oxygen desaturation index ≥4% (ODI4), mean pulse blood oxygen saturation (MSpO 2), lowest pulse blood oxygen saturation (LSpO 2), cumulative time spent with blood oxygen saturation below 95%, 92% and 90%(T95, T92 and T90). According to obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea index (OAHI), patients were divided into the snoring and mild OSA group (OAHI≤5 times/h) and moderate-to-severe OSA group (OAHI>5 times/h). Differences in SpO 2 parameters were compared between groups using the Chi- square test and Mann- Whitney U test. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between SpO 2 parameters and OAHI in all children.The SpO 2 parameters were included in the Logistic regression model.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficiency of SpO 2 parameters on moderate-to-severe OSA. Results:A total of 341 patients were recruited, including 206 male and 135 female patients with the mean age, body mass index (BMI) and OAHI of 6.0 (4.0, 7.5) years, 16.2 (15.1, 18.0) kg/m 2 and 0.6 (0.1, 3.0) times /h, respectively.There were 283(83.0%) and 58 (17.0%) patients in the snoring and mild OSA group and moderate-to-severe OSA group.The ODI3[0.7 (0.3, 1.4) times/h vs.7.7 (4.4, 12.8) times/h], ODI4[0.4 (0.1, 0.8) times/h vs.5.3 (2.7, 9.1) times/h], T95[1.4 (0.3, 5.3) min vs.13.7 (7.0, 33.5) min], T92[0.1 (0, 0.5) min vs.1.8 (0.9, 6.0) min] and T90[0 (0, 0.1) min vs.0.6 (0.2, 2.2) min] were significantly lower in the snoring and mild OSA group than those of moderate-to-severe group, while LSpO 2[91.0 (89.0, 93.0)% vs.86.5 (82.0, 88.0)%] and MSpO 2[ 97.0 (97.0, 98.0)% vs.96.0 (96.0, 97.0)%] were significantly higher(all P<0.001). All SpO 2 parameters were significantly correlated with OAHI (all P<0.001), and the correlation coefficient between ODI3 and OAHI was 0.660.ODI3 was an independent predictor of moderate-to-severe OSA ( OR=3.117, 95% CI: 1.635-5.945, P=0.001). The area under the ROC curve of ODI3 in predicting the moderate-to-severe OSA was 0.957, and the cut-off value of 3.45 times/h and specificity of 95.4%.MSpO 2 was an independent predictor of moderate-to-severe OSA ( OR=2.917, 95% CI: 1.589-5.354, P=0.001). Conclusions:ODI3 can be used to predict the moderate-to-severe OSA in children.

Objective To investigate the synergistic protective effects of WR-2721 combined with lentinan and cytokines against radiation damage in mice, and to provide a new treatment for acute radiation injury. Methods Seventy Institute of Cancer Research mice were divided into seven groups: a control group, a model group, WR-2721 group, Lentinan & cytokine group, WR-2721 & Lentinan group, WR-2721 & cytokine group and WR-2721 & Lentinan & cytokine group. All groups except the control group were irradiated with ⁶⁰Co γ-rays at a dose rate of 0.8 Gy/min and a cumulative dose of 5.0 Gy. The mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation 14 d after irradiation to measure their spleen index, thymus index, and serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-11 (IL-11), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Results For the mice treated with WR-2721, lentinan, and cytokines, the spleen index was 7.33 ± 2.84, the thymus index was 1.70 ± 0.30, the serum SOD level was 114.0 ± 8.3, the MDA level was 7.33 ± 1.16, the IL-11 level was 155.8 ± 49.4, and the TNF-α level was 174.0 ± 37.8. All these indicators except the spleen index in the combination group significantly differed from those of the model group (P < 0.05 or 0.01), indicating the combined treatment promoted recovery from radiation damage. Conclusion WR-2721 combined with lentinan and cytokines has significant synergistic protective effects, which is a promising treatment for acute radiation injury.

ObjectiveTo analyze the sequence variation and genetic diversity of 47 Isatis indigotica germplasm materials， and carry out the study on the genetic differentiation and structure. MethodGenomic DNA of 47 I. indigotica germplasm materials were extracted by kit extraction method. Two chloroplast DNA （cp DNA） sequences and five inter-simple sequence repeat （ISSR） primers were used for amplification and sequencing. Chromas， Mega 7.0， DanSP5， and GenALEx were used to calibrate， splice， and analyze the sequence characteristics. PERMUT and PopGen 1.31 were used to analyze the genetic diversity parameters and genetic structure， and NTSYS was used to obtain the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means（UPGMA） clustering tree plot of 47 I. indigotica germplasm materials. ResultA total of 129 samples from 47 I. indigotica germplasm materials were successfully amplified and sequenced. The length of 2 cp DNA sequences after spliced was 1 412 bp， and there were 377 polymorphic variation loci， and 36 haplotypes. Fu and Li's D* test was significant （P<0.01）. The values of Pi， H_S， and H_T based on cp DNA were 0.119 89， 0.787， and 0.891， respectively. The genetic differentiation coefficients of gene differentiation coefficient（Gst）， nucleotide differentiation coefficient（Nst）， and fixation index（Fst） were 0.117， 0.468， and 0.488， respectively， and the gene flow （Nm） was 0.615. The mean values of PPB， Shannon information diversity index（I）， Nei's genetic diversity index（H）， and Gst based on ISSR were 78.85%， 0.334 8， 0.218 6， and 0.754 4， respectively， and the Nm value was 0.162 8. ConclusionI. indigotica has high genetic diversity and abundant haplotypes at the species level， with abundant haplotypes. Genetic differentiation among different germplasm materials is obvious， and gene exchange is not frequent. Genetic variation mainly exists among populations. The population has accumulated various low-frequency gene mutations recently， suggesting that it has experienced significant regional expansion in the history.

The C-glycosidic bond that connects the sugar moiety with aglycone is difficult to be broken or made due to its inert nature. The knowledge of C-glycoside breakdown and synthesis is very limited. Recently, the enzyme DgpA/B/C cascade from a human intestinal bacterium PUE was identified to specifically cleave the C-glycosidic bond of puerarin (daidzein-8-C-glucoside). Here we investigated how puerarin is recognized and oxidized by DgpA based on crystal structures of DgpA with or without substrate and biochemical characterization. More strikingly, we found that apart from being a C-glycoside cleaving enzyme, DgpA/B/C is capable of efficiently converting O- to C-glycoside showing the activity as a structure isomerase. A possible mechanistic model was proposed dependently of the simulated complex structure of DgpB/C with 3″-oxo-daidzin and structure-based mutagenesis. Our findings not only shed light on understanding the enzyme-mediated C-glycosidic bond breakage and formation, but also may help to facilitate stereospecific C-glycoside synthesis in pharmaceutical industry.

Via an insufficient coat protein complex I (COPI) retrieval signal, the majority of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) is resident in host early secretory organelles and a tiny amount is leaked out in cell surface. Only surface-exposed S can be recognized by B cell receptor (BCR) or anti-S therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that is the trigger step for B cell activation after S mRNA vaccination or infected cell clearance by S mAbs. Now, a drug strategy to promote S host surface exposure is absent. Here, we first combined structural and biochemical analysis to characterize S COPI sorting signals. A potent S COPI sorting inhibitor was then invented, evidently capable of promoting S surface exposure and facilitating infected cell clearance by S antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Importantly, with the inhibitor as a probe, we revealed Omicron BA.1 S is less cell surface exposed than prototypes because of a constellation of S folding mutations, possibly corresponding to its ER chaperone association. Our findings not only suggest COPI is a druggable target against COVID-19, but also highlight SARS-CoV-2 evolution mechanism driven by S folding and trafficking mutations.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is spread primary via respiratory droplets and infects the lungs. Currently widely used cell lines and animals are unable to accurately mimic human physiological conditions because of the abnormal status of cell lines (transformed or cancer cells) and species differences between animals and humans. Organoids are stem cell-derived self-organized three-dimensional culture in vitro and model the physiological conditions of natural organs. Here we showed that SARS-CoV-2 infected and extensively replicated in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)-derived lung organoids, including airway and alveolar organoids which covered the complete infection and spread route for SARS-CoV-2 within lungs. The infected cells were ciliated, club, and alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells, which were sequentially located from the proximal to the distal airway and terminal alveoli, respectively. Additionally, RNA-seq revealed early cell response to virus infection including an unexpected downregulation of the metabolic processes, especially lipid metabolism, in addition to the well-known upregulation of immune response. Further, Remdesivir and a human neutralizing antibody potently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung organoids. Therefore, human lung organoids can serve as a pathophysiological model to investigate the underlying mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to discover and test therapeutic drugs for COVID-19.
Adenosine Monophosphate/therapeutic use* ; Alanine/therapeutic use* ; Alveolar Epithelial Cells/virology* ; Antibodies, Neutralizing/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19/virology* ; Down-Regulation ; Drug Discovery ; Human Embryonic Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Humans ; Immunity ; Lipid Metabolism ; Lung/virology* ; RNA, Viral/metabolism* ; SARS-CoV-2/physiology* ; Virus Replication/drug effects*