Objective:To study the chemical constituents from the ethyl acetate extract of Cyclosorus parasiticus. Method:The whole plant of C. parasiticus were repeatedly percolated with MeOH. The MeOH residue was dispersed in H₂O and successively extracted with petroleum ether,ethyl acetate and butyl alcohol. The chemical constituents from the ethyl acetate fraction were isolated by silica gel,Sephadex LH-20 and ODS columns,and semi-prep high performance liquid chromatography,and their chemical structures were determined on the basis of IR,MS,NMR analysis (¹H and ¹³ C-NMR) and spectroscopic data from literatures. Result:Sixteen compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction, and their chemical structures were identified as physcion (1),ent-kaur-16-ene-2β,15α-diol (2),ent-3β-hydroxy-kaur-16-ene (3),5,7,8,4'-tetramethoxyflavone (4),oleanolic acid (5),5-hydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavone (6),1,7-dihydroxyxanthone (7),interruptin B (8),quercetin (9),apigenin (10),kaempferol (11),afzelin (12),apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranosid (13),kaempferol-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (14),β-daucosterol (15) and β-sitosterol (16). Conclusion:Compounds 1-7 and 9-15 were isolated from the C. parasiticus for the first time. These results provide a foundation for studying the pharmacodynamics material basis and quality control of C. parasiticus.

OBJECTIVETo understand the characteristics of human calicivirus (HuCV) infection in infants with diarrhea in Guangzhou city and to study genotype of the virus.

METHODSThe authors collected fecal specimens from 22 children with acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis from November to December, 2001. HuCV was detected from the specimens by RT-PCR. The PCR products were cloned into the PMD18-T cloning vector and sequenced.

RESULTSHCV was detected from the specimens of 2 cases (9%, 2/22). The nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the virus strains belonged to genotype 2 of Norwalk-like viruses.

CONCLUSIONHuCV is one of the pathogens causing diarrhea in infants and young children in Guangzhou area. HuCV infection occurred sporadically in autumn and winter.

Base Sequence ; Caliciviridae ; genetics ; Caliciviridae Infections ; complications ; virology ; China ; DNA, Viral ; chemistry ; genetics ; Diarrhea, Infantile ; etiology ; Dysentery ; etiology ; Feces ; virology ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infant ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

BACKGROUNDIntra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) is a recognized prognostic marker for severity of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and has a strong impact on the clinical course of SAP. Previous studies indicate that a Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction (DCQD) is beneficial in the treatment of SAP. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of modified DCQD on IAH in patients with SAP.

METHODSBetween January 2008 and December 2008, 42 patients from the West China Hospital were randomized into either the DCQD or control group (n = 21 in each group). Mortality, intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, C-reactive protein (CRP), oxygenation index, Balthazar CT score, rate of renal failure, decompression rate, intensive care unit (ICU) transfer rate, and length of hospital stay (LOS) were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSCompared to the control group, the modified DCQD treatment significantly decreased IAP (P < 0.05) and APACHE II (P < 0.05) scores on days 4 - 8, CRP on day 8 (P < 0.01), renal failure rate (P < 0.05), and LOS (P < 0.05). The oxygenation index was significantly improved in the DCQD group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). No significant differences in the Balthazar CT score, shock rate, ICU transfer rate, or mortality occurred between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONSThe modified DCQD can effectively relieve IAH and decrease LOS for patients with SAP. Larger clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.

Adult ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Intra-Abdominal Hypertension ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatitis ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome

Aim To investigate the effects of Periplane-ta americana extract Ento-A on the immune function in immunosuppressed mice . Methods Immunosup-pressed mouse model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide in KM mice .To evalu-ate the effects of Ento-A on the immune function in im-munosuppressed mice , neutral red method and MTT assay were used respectively to detect the effects of En-to-A on the phagocytosis of peritoneal macrophages and T cell proliferation rate in mice; with sheep red blood cell as immunogen , the effects of Ento-A on the pro-duction of serum hemolysin were evaluated;peripheral blood was tested and immune organ index calculated . Results Compared with model control group , the high, medium and low doses of Ento-A could improve the expression of serum hemolysin in immunosup-pressed mice ( P<0.01 ) , and increase the spleen in-dex(P<0.01) and thymus index (P>0.05), signifi-cantly increased the content of WBC ( P<0.01 ) , PLT ( P<0.01 ) , HGB ( P<0.01 ) , while the contents of RBC was on the rise , with no significant difference ( P>0.05 ) in peripheral blood , significantly enhanced phagocytic function and T lymphocyte proliferative abil-ity in a dose-dependent manner ( P<0.01 ) .Conclu-sion Ento-A can enhance the immune function of im-munosuppressed mice .

BACKGROUNDInterferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) has been used in latent tuberculosis (TB) infection and TB diagnosis, but the results from different high TB-endemic countries are different. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of IGRA in the diagnosis of active pulmonary TB (PTB) in China.

METHODSWe conducted a large-scale retrospective multicenter investigation to further evaluate the role of IGRA in the diagnosis of active PTB in high TB-epidemic populations and the factors affecting the performance of the assay. All patients who underwent valid T-SPOT.TB assays from December 2012 to November 2015 in six large-scale specialized TB hospitals in China and met the study criteria were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were divided into three groups: Group 1, sputum culture-positive PTB patients, confirmed by positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis sputum culture; Group 2, sputum culture-negative PTB patients; and Group 3, non-TB respiratory diseases. The medical records of all patients were collected. Chi-square tests and Fisher's exact test were used to compare categorical data. Multivariable logistic analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between the results of T-SPOT in TB patients and other factors.

RESULTSA total of 3082 patients for whom complete information was available were included in the investigation, including 905 sputum culture-positive PTB cases, 914 sputum culture-negative PTB cases, and 1263 non-TB respiratory disease cases. The positive rate of T-SPOT.TB was 93.3% in the culture-positive PTB group and 86.1% in the culture-negative PTB group. In the non-PTB group, the positive rate of T-SPOT.TB was 43.6%. The positive rate of T-SPOT.TB in the culture-positive PTB group was significantly higher than that in the culture-negative PTB group (χ2 = 25.118, P < 0.01), which in turn was significantly higher than that in the non-TB group (χ2 = 566.116, P < 0.01). The overall results were as follows: sensitivity, 89.7%; specificity, 56.37%; positive predictive value, 74.75%; negative predictive value, 79.11%; and accuracy, 76.02%.

CONCLUSIONSHigh false-positive rates of T-SPOT.TB assays in the non-TB group limit the usefulness as a single test to diagnose active TB in China. We highly recommend that IGRAs not be used for the diagnosis of active TB in high-burden TB settings.

BackgroundSerum cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) test is the most used noninvasive method to detect cryptococcal infection. However, false-negative CrAg test is not uncommon in clinical practice. Then, the aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with false-negative CrAg test among non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) adult patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis and its clinical features.

MethodsOne hundred and fourteen non-HIV adult patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis, proven by biopsy, were retrospectively reviewed. Finally, 85 patients were enrolled; 56 were CrAg positive (CrAg+ group) and 29 were negative (CrAg- group). It was a cross-sectional study. Then, baseline characteristics, underlying diseases, clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, and chest radiological findings were reviewed and analyzed. Chi-square test was used to analyze categorical variable. Odds ratio (OR) was used to measure correlation. Student's t- test was obtained to analyze continuous variable.

ResultsNo difference in baseline characteristics, underlying diseases, clinical symptoms, and laboratory findings were found between two groups (P > 0.05 in all). Nevertheless, diffuse extent lesion was 82.1% in CrAg+ group and 10.3% in CrAg- group (χ = 40.34, P < 0.001; OR = 39.87).

ConclusionsAmong patients with limited pulmonary involvement, a negative serum CrAg does not preclude the diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis. However, among patients with extensive pulmonary involvement, serum CrAg is a useful diagnostic tool for pulmonary cryptococcosis. Furthermore, we also noticed that the untypical and mild presentations with extensive pulmonary lesion might be the features of pulmonary cryptococcosis, which needs further investigation.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Cryptococcosis ; immunology ; pathology ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; immunology ; pathology ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: The relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and glycemic indices, including plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postload glucose (2h-PG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), remains inconclusive. We aimed to explore the associations between glycemic indices and SUA levels in the general Chinese population. Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional analysis using the first follow-up survey data from The China Cardiometabolic Disease and Cancer Cohort Study. A total of 105,922 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 40 years underwent the oral glucose tolerance test and uric acid assessment. The nonlinear relationships between glycemic indices and SUA levels were explored using generalized additive models. Results: A total of 30,941 men and 62,361 women were eligible for the current analysis. Generalized additive models verified the inverted U-shaped association between glycemic indices and SUA levels, but with different inflection points in men and women. The thresholds for FPG, 2h-PG, and HbA1c for men and women were 6.5/8.0 mmol/L, 11.0/14.0 mmol/L, and 6.1/6.5, respectively (SUA levels increased with increasing glycemic indices before the inflection points and then eventually decreased with further increases in the glycemic indices). Conclusion An inverted U-shaped association was observed between major glycemic indices and uric acid levels in both sexes, while the inflection points were reached earlier in men than in women.
Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Glucose/analysis* ; China/epidemiology* ; Cohort Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus/blood* ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Glycated Hemoglobin A/analysis* ; Glycemic Index ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Uric Acid/blood*