OBJECTIVE:To provide reference for the approval of Chinese medicines’patent application in the United States. METHODS:The requirements of patent eligibility in the United States were interpreted;two important patent cases(“Mayo case”and“Myriad case”)were analyzed in recent years,and the effects of“patent eligibility guideline”on Chinese medicines’patent ap-plication in the United States were also analyzed;the suggestions were put forward according to the situation of Chinese medicines’ patent application. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS:Patent eligibility required that patent protection objects should be included in ob-ject range which could be vested patent right stated in patent law. The analysis of“Mayo case”“Myriad case”and patent eligibility guideline indicated that if related Chinese medicines’patent was to obtain patent approval in the United States,notable difference between the medicine and natural products as well as the order of nature must be clearly stated;technical attributes should be em-phasized,and different patent application ideas were adopted for different types of invention in order to guarantee patent eligibility. At present,small number of Chinese medicine’s patent in the United States come from China,and relevant enterprises should liber-ate themselves from the misperception that Chinese medicines do not hold patent eligibility. Hence,it is suggest that the first claim in the patent should not be too definite in Chinese medicines’patent application,afford more comprehensive application,strength-en patent protection of classic Chinese medicine recipe and stress patent eligibility.

Deciphering the metabolites of multiple components in herbal medicine has far-reaching significance for revealing pharmacodynamic ingredients.However,most chemical components of herbal medicine are secondary metabolites with low content whose in vivo metabolites are close to trace amounts,making it difficult to achieve comprehensive detection and identification.In this paper,an efficient strategy was proposed:herb-derived metabolites were predicted according to the structural characteristics and metabolic reactions of chemical constituents in Corydalis Rhizoma and chemical structure screening tables for metabolites were conducted.The fragmentation patterns were summarized from represen-tative standards combining with specific cleavage behaviors to deduce structures of metabolites.Ion abundance plays an important role in compound identification,and high ion abundance can improve identification accuracy.The types of metabolites in different biological samples were very similar,but their ion abundance might be different.Therefore,for trace metabolites in biological samples,we used the following two methods to process:metabolites of high dose herbal extract were analyzed to char-acterize those of clinical dose herbal extracts in the same biological samples;cross-mapping of different biological samples was applied to identify trace metabolites based on the fact that a metabolite has different ion abundance in different biological samples.Compared with not using this strategy,44 more metabolites of clinical dose herbal extract were detected.This study improved the depth,breadth,and accuracy of current methods for herb-derived metabolites characterization.

Objectives To analyze the changes of serum complement C1q level in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) and investigate whether it is associated with lipid metabolism and glycometabolism. Methods In a cross-sectional study, the subjects were selected as the patients and healthy people who went to the second xiangya hospital of central south university from July 2017 to June 2018. A total of 152 MS patients were enrolled and another 90 healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. Anthropometry parameters such as body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured. Serum concentrations of C1q and other biochemical indexes including blood glucose (GLU), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured in all groups. The correlations between C1q and these parameters were analyzed by spearman's rho test and the clinical value of C1q in predicting MS was further evaluated by stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. Results MS group had higher serum C1q levels (244.34±62.66) mg/L compared with the control group (202.37±35.92) mg/L (t=-6.250, P=0.000). C1q levels (244.34±62.66) mg/L were positively associated with TG levels [2.34(1.89, 3.62)] mmol/L (r=0.245, P=0.001), TC levels (4.91±1.26) mmol/L (r=0.398, P=0.000), LDL-C levels (3.23±1.03) mmol/L (r=0.325, P=0.000) in MS group, While C1q levels (258.92±69.59)mg/L were positively associated with SBP (144.76 ± 22.94) mmHg (r=0.388, P=0.018), TG levels [2.65(1.87, 3.82)] mmol / L (r=0.482, P=0.003), TC levels (5.18±1.31) mmol/L (r=0.529,P=0.001) in MS patients with obesity. The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that TG levels were independently correlated with serum C1q levels both in MS patients (β=0.302, P=0.000) and in MS patients with obesity (β=0.653, P=0.000) after adjusting for age, gender and other biochemical markers. Conclusions MS patients had higher C1q levels than healthy subjects and serum C1q levels were closely positive related to harmful lipid profiles. Serum TG level was an independent influencing factor of serum C1q in MS patients.

Cerebral infarction, with high incidence, high mortality, high disability and high recurrence rates, can impose a serious burden on families and society. After cerebral infarction occurrence, neurons, as the fundamental structures of the central nervous system, are unable to renew or multiply after death; hence, full recovery from neurological impairments following cerebral infarction is challenging. With stem cell and genetic recombination advancements, cellular replacement therapy after cerebral infarction progresses, which helps clinical transformation and application. In this paper, the basic researches of cellular replacement therapy after cerebral infarction are reviewed from 3 aspects: endogenous nerve regeneration, exogenous stem cell transplantation, and in situ somatic cell trans-differentiation into neurons, in order to provide references for cerebral infarction treatment

OBJECTIVETo assess the association of VKORC1 gene -1639G/A polymorphism with atrial fibrillation (AF) in ethnic Uygurs and Hans from Xinjiang.

METHODSThe above polymorphism was detected among 100 Uygur and 102 Han AF patients and 103 Uygur and 111 Han subjects that have no AF with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method.

RESULTSA statistically significant difference was detected between the patient and control groups of Uygur origin in terms of genotypic and allelic frequencies (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis also indicated the -1639G/A polymorphism as an independent risk factor for AF in Uygur population (OR=2.085, 95% CI: 1.067-4.072, P=0.031). No similar statistical difference was found between the patient and control groups of Han origin (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe -1639G/A polymorphism of VKORC1 gene is associated with AF in the Uygur population but not in Hans.

Adult ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; ethnology ; genetics ; Atrial Fibrillation ; ethnology ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; China ; ethnology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Vitamin K Epoxide Reductases ; genetics

We studied structural and immunological properties of the SARS-CoV M (membrane) protein, based on comparative analyses of sequence features, phylogenetic investigation, and experimental results. The M protein is predicted to contain a triple-spanning transmembrane (TM) region, a single N-glycosylation site near its N-terminus that is in the exterior of the virion, and a long C-terminal region in the interior. The M protein harbors a higher substitution rate (0.6% correlated to its size) among viral open reading frames (ORFs) from published data. The four substitutions detected in the M protein, which cause non-synonymous changes, can be classified into three types. One of them results in changes of pI (isoelectric point) and charge, affecting antigenicity. The second changes hydrophobicity of the TM region, and the third one relates to hydrophilicity of the interior structure. Phylogenetic tree building based on the variations of the M protein appears to support the non-human origin of SARS-CoV. To investigate its immunogenicity, we synthesized eight oligopeptides covering 69.2% of the entire ORF and screened them by using ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) with sera from SARS patients. The results confirmed our predictions on antigenic sites.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Cluster Analysis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Immunoassay ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation ; genetics ; Oligopeptides ; Phylogeny ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; SARS Virus ; genetics ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Viral Matrix Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; immunology

Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) analysis has pioneered genome-wide gene discovery and expression profiling. In order to establish a gene expression index in the rice cultivar indica, we sequenced and analyzed 86,136 ESTs from nine rice cDNA libraries from the super hybrid cultivar LYP9 and its parental cultivars. We assembled these ESTs into 13,232 contigs and leave 8,976 singletons. Overall, 7,497 sequences were found similar to existing sequences in GenBank and 14,711 are novel. These sequences are classified by molecular function, biological process and pathways according to the Gene Ontology. We compared our sequenced ESTs with the publicly available 95,000 ESTs from japonica, and found little sequence variation, despite the large difference between genome sequences. We then assembled the combined 173,000 rice ESTs for further analysis. Using the pooled ESTs, we compared gene expression in metabolism pathway between rice and Arabidopsis according to KEGG. We further profiled gene expression patterns in different tissues, developmental stages, and in a conditional sterile mutant, after checking the libraries are comparable by means of sequence coverage. We also identified some possible library specific genes and a number of enzymes and transcription factors that contribute to rice development.
Arabidopsis ; genetics ; DNA, Complementary ; metabolism ; Databases as Topic ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Gene Library ; Genome, Plant ; Genomics ; methods ; Multigene Family ; Open Reading Frames ; Oryza ; genetics ; Quality Control ; Software

Objective:To explore the effect of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) at the initial visit on the survival of children with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma (MB).Methods:This was a case-control study involving 61 children with newly diagnosed MB at the Department of Pediatrics, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University from August 2018 to January 2020 .The blood cell counts, lymphocyte subsets and immunoglobulin in the periphe-ral blood were measured to calculate NLR at the initial visit.Based on the cut-off value determined by receiver opera-ting characteristic (ROC) curve, patients were divided into high NLR group (≥ 2.07, n=21) and low NLR group (<2.07, n=40). The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between 2 groups were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method, followed by Log- rank test.The correlation between NLR at the initial visit with clinical characteristics, lymphocyte subsets and immunoglobulin of children with newly diagnosed MB was analyzed.Differences between groups were compared by the Chi- square test, Mann- Whitney U test and independent sample t test. Results:The survival analysis showed that the relapse rate (38.1% vs.10.0%, χ2=6.879, P=0.016) and mortality rate (19.0% vs.0, χ2=8.154, P=0.011) were significantly higher in high NLR group than those of low NLR group.PFS (12 months vs.19 months, χ2=9.775, P=0.002) and OS (19 months vs.20 months, χ2=8.432, P=0.004) were significantly shorter in high NLR group than those of low NLR group.No significant differences in clinical characteristics were detected between groups (all P>0.05). Compared with low NLR group, the percentage of T lymphocyte[(67.93±6.37)% vs.(73.38±8.08)%, t=2.886, df=48.865, P=0.006], T helper cells (Th)[(30.86±5.53)% vs.(34.29±7.44)%, t=2.037, df=51.981, P=0.047], and T suppressor cells (Ts)[(27.39±5.50)% vs.(30.84±6.58)%, t=2.164, df=47.581, P=0.035] were significantly lower in high NLR group.Spearman correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between NLR and T lymphocyte count ( r=-0.303, P=0.018), and Ts lymphocyte count ( r=-0.260, P=0.043). Conclusions:Children with newly diagnosed MB expressing a high level of NLR had a poor prognosis, which may be associated with T lymphocyte and Ts lymphocyte.

Ultrasound examination has the advantages of non-radiation, non-invasive, low cost and high efficiency, and is the most commonly used method of liver imaging examination. In recent years, the application of computer vision technology to the intelligent analysis of ultrasound images has become a research hotspot in the field of intelligent healthcare. Through large-scale data training, the intelligent analysis model of ultrasound omics based on machine learning algorithm can assist clinical diagnosis and therapy, and improve the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis. Based on the literature, the authors summarize the application proprect of computer vision technology assisted ultrasonography in the evaluation of diffuse liver lesions, focal liver lesions, microvascular invasion of liver cancer, postoperative recurrence of liver cancer, and postoperative therapy response to trans-catheter arterial chemoembolization.

Beijing has been one of the epicenters attacked most severely by the SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus) since the first patient was diagnosed in one of the city's hospitals. We now report complete genome sequences of the BJ Group, including four isolates (Isolates BJ01, BJ02, BJ03, and BJ04) of the SARS-CoV. It is remarkable that all members of the BJ Group share a common haplotype, consisting of seven loci that differentiate the group from other isolates published to date. Among 42 substitutions uniquely identified from the BJ group, 32 are non-synonymous changes at the amino acid level. Rooted phylogenetic trees, proposed on the basis of haplotypes and other sequence variations of SARS-CoV isolates from Canada, USA, Singapore, and China, gave rise to different paradigms but positioned the BJ Group, together with the newly discovered GD01 (GD-Ins29) in the same clade, followed by the H-U Group (from Hong Kong to USA) and the H-T Group (from Hong Kong to Toronto), leaving the SP Group (Singapore) more distant. This result appears to suggest a possible transmission path from Guangdong to Beijing/Hong Kong, then to other countries and regions.
Genome, Viral ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Mutation ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; SARS Virus ; genetics